From Fatma Qandil’s ‘Empty Cages’
It’s publication day for Fatima Qandil’s raw, tenderly crafted novel Empty Cages, translated to English by Adam Talib. In this excerpt, we get a glimpse of the narrator’s relationship with her mother.
Fiction
New Short Fiction: ‘Fable of the Salt’
In this short fiction, “Umm Shihab still believes in superstitions. Not a day goes by without her burning incense, afraid that an old spell might have wandered in and entered her house by mistake, or that someone is blowing under the ashes of envy, trying to ignite a fire within her.”
From Sufyan Rajab’s ‘Noah’s Hourglass’
Sufyan Rajab’s Noah’s Hourglass is no ordinary East-West love affair. The fun, sharply observed novel moves between two voices—the Tunisian Belkacem and the Ukrianian Olga—as they each try to find safe harbor in an unsafe world. An excerpt in James Scanlan’s sharp translation.
Classic Short Fiction: Muhammed Taymour’s ‘The Eid Whistle’
This classic short fiction was composed in August 1917 by Muhammed Taymour, a pioneer of modern fiction and theatrical literature in Egypt.
New Fiction: From ‘The Palace on the Higher Hill’
Winner of the 2021 Prix des Cinq Continents de la Francophonie, Karim Kattan’s The Palace on the Higher Hill — beautifully translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman and out this month from Foundry Editions — opens when Faysal receives a letter about the death of aunt he can’t remember.
From Ala Hlehel’s ‘Seven Letters to Umm Kulthum’
The award-winning “Seven Letters to Umm Kulthum” follows the story of a Palestinian family from a small, remote village in the Upper Galilee: the parents, Mustafa and Hajer, and their sons, Yazn and Nur. Events in the novel begin to unfold and unravel on December 8, 1987, when the first Palestinian intifada begins.
‘Subject: Mirror, Mirror’: An Excerpt
This excerpt from Badar Salem’s “Lonely as a Crowded Room” was translated by the author.
From ‘The Statue of Delma’ by Reem Al-Kamali
Reem Al-Kamali’s The Statue of Delma — winner of the 2018 Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity — is a compelling historical fantasy that sweeps readers back in time to 3000 BCE. The setting is Delma Island, as isolated “as a rock thrown into infinite space.” The narrative unfolds as Nurta — a priest, artist, and magician — sculpts a statue of a deity.
Classic Short Fiction: ‘Among the Problems of the Village’
This story originally appeared in Maroun Abboud’s أقزام جبابرة. Abboud (1886-1962) was a Lebanese poet and writer who lived and worked among the Druze and wrote about village life in Mount Lebanon. Abboud studied various languages, initially pursued priesthood, and later worked as a newspaper editor while writing poetry.