The Broken Wings Kahlil Gibran - A novel written by Kahlil Gibran and first published in Arabic in 1912. It is a tale of tragic love, set in turn-of-the-century Beirut. A young woman, Selma Karamy is betrothed to a prominent religious man's nephew. The protagonist, a young man, 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.

Kahlil Gibran (Arabic: ) was a Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer.Born in the town of Bsharri in modern-day Lebanon (then part of Ottoman Mount Lebanon), as a young man he emigrated with his family to the United States where he studied art and began his literary career. In the Arab world, Gibran is regarded as a literary and political rebel. His romantic style was at the heart of a renaissance in modern Arabic literature, especially prose poetry, breaking away from the classical school. In Lebanon, he is still celebrated as a literary hero.He is chiefly known in the English-speaking world for his 1923 book The Prophet, an early example of inspirational fiction including a series of philosophical essays written in poetic English prose. The book sold well despite a cool critical reception, gaining popularity in the 1930s and again, especially in the 1960s counterculture.Gibran is the third best-selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu.