Palestinian Literature Honored at Turin Fair
While Saudi Arabia is the controversial guest of honor at this year’s Prague Book Fair, at the Turin fair, the focus is on Palestine.
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Posts by Marcia Lynx Qualey:
Book Review: Hisham Matar’s Anatomy of a Disappearance
Hisham Matar’s Anatomy of a Disappearance has an air of tea-service fragility. The Libyan-British author’s second novel – following his 2006 Booker-shortlisted In the Country of Men – reads as though, if one were to breathe on it too hard, the whole thing might crack.
Why Are Saudi Authorities Cracking Down on Book Clubs?
Frankly, I am not equipped to explain the thinking behind the KSA’s (many) laws. But I can say that the English-language term “book club” is not sufficient to express what Saudi authorities mean to control and repress with a new set of culture-strangling bylaws.
Sectarian Strife in Sonallah Ibrahim’s 1992 Novel, Zaat
The book is classic Ibrahim in that it uses a pastiche of headlines, captions, factoids, and advertisements as well as the life of the titular character, Zaat. The novel provides social criticism of the Egypt under Egypt’s three post-colonial ex-presidents. Capitalism and corruption are core themes; sectarianism can also be found.
Documentary on Disappeared Bahraini Poet, Ayat Qurmazi
Via Sinan Antoon.
The Next Bestseller Translated from the Arabic Will Be…
I imagine that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is putting their money on Revolution 2.0, to be written by Wael Ghonim, translated by (?), and edited by HMH publisher Bruce Nichols. Nichols, presumably, will take a firm hand in shaping the narrative.
‘Revolutionary’ Chick Lit, Erotic Theology, and the Future of the Saudi Novel
Anglos have long been charged by a belief in Arab (hyper)sexuality. As Edward Said nods at in his pioneering Orientalism, this is in large part because of Anglo (hyper)reserve about s-e-x. Indeed, we might just as well talk about why Anglo writers can’t properly describe sex in their novels, and what they might learn from Saudi women.
The Animals in Libyan Fiction
Yes, he’s an anthropomorphicized animal—it’s an anthrophile’s world—but there’s also dogginess in him.
Does the Arab Novel Require a Different Sort of Criticism?
Fakhri Saleh—former IPAF and Mahfouz Medal judge and current al-Hayat columnist—has a short piece in this week’s Qantara arguing that Arabic literature requires a different, de-Orientalized sort of literary criticism.