Well, perhaps this one was a bit morbid: The “Five Before You Die” was a feature we ran back in the summer 2010; by now, there are now many more great Arabic books available in translation, but this remains a strong list from translators, authors, critics, and publishers. Shakir MustafaContinue Reading

There are two stories by Luay Hamza Abbas in Banipal 37: Iraqi Authors, “The Pictures” and “Ali the Red,” and I think they’re well worth discussing. The prose—translated by the lovely, brilliant Maia Tabet*—is often striking, as in the opening to “The Pictures”: There’s a kind of friend whose presenceContinue Reading