She was the one who loved my father before he loved her; she loved…

إنها هي التي أحبت أبي قبل أن يحبها هو. أحبته أكثر مما يحبها. ولو عادت بها الدنيا إلى الوراء ما اختارت غيره رغم ما تعرَّضت له من عذابٍ وفراقٍ للأهل والأحباب.

She was the one who loved my father before he loved her; she loved him more than he loved her, and if life were to turn back she would choose no one else, despite all the pain and the separation from family and loved ones it cost her.

From the novel Diary of a Jewish Muslim · Chapter 27

Words of a narrator or a character belong to the novel's world, not to the author's personal views.

Diary of a Jewish Muslim

فلم أكن أعرف من قبل أن الحب جميل إلى هذه الدرجة. وأن نادية يمكن أن تفعل بي كل هذا.
I had not known before that love was this beautiful, or that Nadia could do all this to me.

Diary of a Jewish Muslim

فشقَّتُنا ليست كأي شقة في العمارة وإنما كان لها دائمًا وضعُها الخاص. وأول ما يقترب منها الأولاد. الصغار منهم بالذات. كانت تنتابهم الرهبة وكأنهم مُقْدمُون على عالم سري محفوف بالغموض؛ لكنه وعلى أيَّة حال غموض جذاب يشوقهم لمعرفتنا على حقيقتنا!
Our flat was not like any other in the building; it always had its special standing. When the children came near, especially the little ones, a kind of awe seized them, as if they were entering a secret world wrapped in mystery, a mystery that nevertheless drew them to find out who we really were.

Diary of a Jewish Muslim

نادوا على اسمي بعد برهةِ انقطاع. قالوا: إنه النداءُ الأخير.. ولم أُجِبْ بالطبع.. فقد كانوا ينادون على شخصٍ مَيِّت..
After a pause they called my name again. They said it was the final call. Of course I did not answer. They were calling a dead man.

Diary of a Jewish Muslim