The scope of Arabic literature now includes novels written by Arab women novelists who defy the conventional trends of Arabic writing and created what is known as the Emerging Voices series. Though The Stone of Laughter is Hoda Barakat’s first novel, it shows how Arab women's literature has greatly evolved. The novel deals with the blighted legacy of the Lebanese civil war. It, too, examines the emotional and physical violence and disorder inflicting the city of Beirut as well as the people. Such a phase was tackled by Liyana Badr in her novel A Balcony over the Fakihani. The way in which Hoda Barakat treats this crucial phase of the Lebanese life remained as distinct and unprecedented as her choice of her characters. The introduction is written by the Jordanian novelist Fadia Faqir who was also able to fashion distinct women characters in her novel Pillars of Salt. In her introduction, Fadia Faqir helps the reader understand important issues in the field of Arab women writers in general and in The Stone of Laughter in particular. As an editor of a collection of testimonies by Arab women novelist, Fadia Faqir castigates the position of women in Arab societies. The Stone of Laughter introduces the literary scholars into other-literatures of different social and historical contexts. It also reflects a true picture of the creativity of Arab women writers.
