Chapters 5-6: Gold, Early Harvest Summary and Analysis

As October arrives, construction on Shadid's house has stalled after the initial enthusiasm of destruction. Shadid contends with the Lebanese concept of time compared with his own American impatient adherence to deadlines; a ten-minute meeting with Abu Jean quickly becomes an hour, and Abu Jean wonders why Shadid is always in a hurry.

Shadid's friend Hikmat and his wife Amina give birth to a daughter, and suddenly Hikmat, faced with this vulnerable life entirely dependent on him, begins to worry more about the constant instability of Lebanon. There is an uneasy peace between the pro-Israeli government in Beirut and Hezbollah, the anti-Israeli resistance movement following the 2006 war that brought Shadid to the region, and the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Violence could break out again between the groups at any moment, as...