'Ezza Agha Malak’s new novel, What Have You Done With Your Kids, Dad?, touches upon some particularly painful issues as it describes the abusive relationship of an overbearing, Muslim man seen thru the eyes of his own young children. The progressive breakdown of the couple means more than the separation of two adults with children. Not only do these young ones have to face the terrible psychological assault upon their own mother, but they also have to reconcile themselves with the loss of t...

Why does a couple's relationship end? That is the first question the reader of this novel is prompted to ask. It is the story of a couple tearing itself apart discreetly, a couple transformed without knowing why. A couple tested by time and habits. A woman comfortably set in the routine of a life lived in tandem. A man who seeks to leave for no apparent reason. Another who frequents virtual women. A third man who hides behind the cabalistic, life-saving phrase justifying his departure: "Mari...