Pauls Toutonghi

May 22, 2024 | harpers.org | Pauls Toutonghi

It was March 22, 2011, and we were watching the Egyptian Interior Ministry burn. My father, my sister, my wife, and I were all crammed into a van on Sheikh Rihan Street in Cairo. Traffic was gridlocked. Dense clouds of smoke rose from the building at the end of the block—the building that had been the headquarters of the Central Security Forces. Hundreds of protesters streamed past our vehicle. Ash-Shaab! Yureed! Isqat an-nizam! they shouted.

Oct 5, 2023 | lithub.com | Pauls Toutonghi

I was fifteen years old—a dejected sophomore at Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington. My life had come apart in the last year, as the main certitude of my adolescence—an unwavering belief in heaven, in all the mythos of a religious worldview—had simply evaporated. It wasn’t complex and it wasn’t slow. One night, lying in bed, watching the motion of headlights across the wall of my 2nd floor bedroom, I suddenly lost my belief in God. It was irreversible. And devastating.

Oct 3, 2023 | powells.com | Pauls Toutonghi

Two refugees find that their lives are inextricably linked — over time and distance — by the perils of history and a single haunting piece of music. Born in Beirut in 1922, Marguerite Toutoungi lives a life of loss and sacrifice. She dreams of traveling to Europe and studying music at the Conservatoire de Paris but her family — and her society — hold her back. When she meets the son of a Cuban tobacco farmer at a formal dance, love transforms her life.

Oct 3, 2023 | simonandschuster.com | Pauls Toutonghi

THE REFUGEE OCEANPauls ToutonghiDiscussion Questions1. How do Marguerite and Naïm’s experiences as refugees from different regions compare? How do their stories reflect the broader immigrant experience? 2. How did Marguerite’s journey differ from — or mirror — the experiences of modern-day refugees like Naïm? 3. What does music symbolize in the journeys of Naïm and Marguerite? 4. Consider the role of family and community in the lives of Marguerite and Naïm.

Sep 20, 2023 | barnesandnoble.com | Brittany Bunzey |Jesmyn Ward |Amanda Peters |Pauls Toutonghi

Trek to the Klondike when you pick up The Prospectors, an expansive story of one family’s fight for gold — and their legacy. From the icy Canadian wilderness to California at the start of the 20th Century, this novel interrogates one family’s ambition, greed and loyalties as the effects of the Yukon Gold Rush ripple across generations. Pick up our exclusive edition for a unique jacket and endpapers, an author essay about how her own family inspired the book and a helpful reading group guide.