Which Arabic Books (in English) Are Reviewed?
When I saw that Fadi Azzam’s Sarmada, trans. Adam Talib, had been reviewed recently in The National (“Heady stuff, but not for everyone“), I thought: Hunh. How did this book […]
Reviews
A Review of ‘Out of It,’ Selma Dabbagh’s Debut Novel
From my review in the Egypt Independent: In her debut novel, British-Palestinian author Selma Dabbagh has set herself a very difficult task. “Out of It,” published by Bloomsbury UK, is […]
‘The Hashish Waiter’: Freedom and Escape in the Era of Camp David
New in Al Masry Al Youm, a review of Khairy Shalaby’s The Hashish Waiter, trans. Adam Talib and published by AUC Press this year. For those interested, last month we also ran a Q&A with Talib.
A Short Walk through Tahir Wattar’s ‘The Earthquake’
Interested in the meditations of homicidal religious men revolting against wealth redistribution and threatening retribution? Tahir Wattar’s The Earthquake might be for you.
Mona Prince’s ‘So You May See’: A different sort of freedom
My review of Mona Prince’s So You May See has made its way to the Al Masry Al Youm culture pages:
What Will Get Papers, Magazines to Review Arabic Literature (in English)?
A recently published “Global Translation Initiative Study,” conducted by Dalkey Press, surveyed Anglo bookstores, universities, publishers, media, and translators about attitudes toward translated literature.
Dear Translation: Less Theory, More Style
Unfortunately, although I have read The Time Travels of the Man Who Sold Pickles and Sweets (and may, who knows, re-read it along with the Arabic), I cannot enthuse about it or claim that I dashed with delight through the prose.
Review of Amina Zaydan’s Mahfouz Medal-winning ‘Red Wine’
Unfortunately, extra production time has not meant a smooth English version of this compelling and complex novel. The translation has too many strangely turned-out sentences, which mimic the Arabic but fail to clearly express the essence of the prose.
Al Ahram Launches New Online Books Portal
The Egyptian government-owned Al Ahram has launched the beta version of its new English online portal. The site includes a replacement for the old Al Ahram Weekly book-review section, which expired in the spring of 2006.