Broken Wings (Gibran novel)

The Broken Wings is a poetic novel written by Khalil Gibran first published in Arabic in 1912. It is a tale of tragic love, set in turn-of-the-century Beirut.^[1] A young woman, Selma Karamy, is betrothed to a prominent religious man's nephew. The protagonist (a young man that Gibran perhaps modeled after himself) falls in love with this woman. They begin to meet in secret, however they are discovered, and Selma is forbidden to leave her house, breaking their hopes and hearts.

The book highlights many of the social issues of the time in the Eastern Mediterranean, including religious corruption, the rights of women (and lack thereof), and the weighing up of wealth and happiness.

The book was later adapted as the 1962 Lebanese film The Broken Wings.

Popular culture

• The song "Broken Wings", a US No. 1 and worldwide Top 10 hit for the band Mr. Mister, was inspired by the novel.
• The song "Blackbird" by John Lennon and Paul McCartney was also inspired by the novel.^[2]

References

External links

• Broken Wings