With more than 21,000 copies in print of&#160;&#160;<i>Women Of Sand And Myrrh</i>, and more than&#160;&#160;15,000 copies of <i>The Story Of&#160;&#160;Zahra</i>, Hanan al-Shaykh is the best known and most&#160;&#160;admired woman writer of the Arab world. The paperback&#160;&#160;publication of <i>Zahra</i> will bring&#160;&#160;this passionate and courageous novel to a much&#160;&#160;larger group of readers. Its haunting story of a&#160;&#160;young Lebanese woman who attempts to stem the&#160;&#160;violence in Beirut by initiating a sexual liaison with a&#160;&#160;sniper has &quot;lifted the corner of a dark&#160;&#160;curtain&quot; (<i>Sunday Telegraph</i> )&#160;&#160;from a world that fascinates us&#160;&#160;all.