Why Algerian Novelist Boualem Sansal’s ‘2084’ is a Sensation in France
“Think you might read ‘2084’? You should, but be prepared.”
Reviews
Asia Alfasi’ ‘Extraordinary Tales’: Bringing Together Libya, Scotland, and Manga
Translator Valentina Viene profiles “Muslim Libyan Arab British graphic novelist” Asia Alfasi, who has moved from writing about her identity to, more broadly, life in Libya and Scotland.
Blue Lorries, a strong contender for the Banipal Prize of Arabic Literary Translation
“As a translator, one of the most impressive and delightful feats in the English version is where Nada and her father unwind in the evening by playing a beloved poetry game.”
‘Oh Salaam!’: Is Change Possible in Post-war Beirut?
“…it’s a fast-paced, novella-length work, reminiscent of Muriel Spark’s ‘Driver’s Seat’, both for its black humor and for the way its characters slide precipitously into danger.”
‘The Journey of Hyenas’: A Novel That Contests the ‘Natural Order’
The Journey of Hyenas (2013) by Egyptian writer Soheir al-Musadafah, sets the a story of a woman’s seventh-century slavery against the present day.
Hanan al-Shaykh’s ‘Azara Londonistan’: Bemused, Iconoclastic, Often Hilarious
Hanan al-Shaykh’s latest novel — The Virgins of Londonistan — was released in late November at this year’s Beirut Book Fair. Reviewer Mishka Mojabber Mourani found it to be both flirtatious and important.
‘Dates on My Fingers’: Exploring and Challenging Traditional Masculinities
Reviewer Alexandra Atiya found a challenge to received ideas of masculinity in Iraqi novelist Muhsin al-Ramli’s “Dates on My Fingers” (2014), translated by Luke Leafgren.
‘Diary of a Muslim Jew’: And Yes, That’s the Book’s Title
We have become so accustomed to thinking of religion as a place of singularity in human identity that Diary of a Jewish Musilm gives all the shock in translation that author Kamal Ruhayyim surely intended in the original.
‘Chronicles of Majnun Layla & Selected Poems’: A Different Kind of Crazy
It’s easy to see why Ferial Ghazoul and John Verlenden would choose the “Chronicles of Majnun Layla” as the centerpiece of their Qassim Haddad collection, which brings together work that spans the Bahraini poet’s career.