Volumes 3 and 4 of Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq’s ‘Leg Over Leg’ Now Out

The anticipated third and fourth volume of Humphrey Davies’ English translation of Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq’s classic Leg Over Leg are now available: 

Davies — who was shortlisted for a Best Translated Book Award for his work on Vol. 1 — announced the arrival of the second half of his parallel-text edition and translation of Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq’s 1855 masterpiece al-Saq ‘ala al-saq/Leg Over Leg. He noted:

In volumes Three and Four the author continues to trace the peregrinations, geographic and intellectual, of his protagonist, the Fariyaq, though the arena shifts now from Lebanon and Egypt to Malta, England, and France. He is joined by his soul-mate, the Fariyaqiyyah, and their debates, sometimes bantering, sometimes violent, on men, women, and sex, for which they find ammunition in their own volatile relationship, add a new dimension and texture to the work. Leg Over Leg closes with the author tearing apart claims by French scholars to superiority over their Arab counterparts, in an appendix that may constitute the first blast of the trumpet against the monstrous regiment of orientalists.

You can order the whole four-volume set over at the Library of Arabic Literature website. You won’t be sorry.

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