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Milk and Honey, Tabbūleh, and Coke: Orientalist, Local, and Global Discourses in Alexandra Chreiteh's Dāyman Coca-Cola

Abstract This article offers a textual analysis of Alexandra Chreiteh's novel Dāyman Coca-Cola (Always Coca-Cola), which follows the lives of three young women residing in contemporary Beirut. Analysing the novel from a framework that combines theories of Orientalism, postcolonialism, and globalization, I argue that Chreiteh's text reveals three major discourses that seek to claim and produce the city, namely: a global discourse that brands Beirut as a glamorous city primarily defined by its proclivity for consumption; an Orientalist discourse that portrays Beirut as an exotic tourist destination and romantic haven; and a local discourse that constructs Beirut as a traditional Arab society founded on firm cultural and religious values. It is in this contentious space that Chreiteh's female protagonists grapple with evolving local and global pressures, which markedly impact their bodies and subjectivities.