Middle Eastern Fiction
New 11/08
The Yacoubian Building
by Alaa Al Aswany
This controversial bestselling novel in the Arab world reveals the political corruption, sexual repression, religious extremism and modern hopes of Egypt today.
The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine
Osama al-Kharrat returns to Beirut after many years in America to stand vigil at his father’s deathbed. The city is a shell of the Beirut Osama remembers, but he and his friends and family take solace in the things that have always sustained them: gossip, laughter and, above all, stories.
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea
A bold new voice from Saudi Arabia spins a fascinating tale of four young women attempting to navigate the narrow straits between love, desire, fulfillment and Islamic tradition – for the first time, the hidden world of today's upper-class Saudi women is revealed by an insider.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship.
The Attack by Yasmina Khadra
This timely and haunting novel that powerfully illuminates the devastating human costs of terrorism. Dr. Amin Jaafari is an Arab-Israeli surgeon at a hospital in Tel Aviv. Jaafari’s world is abruptly shattered when his wife, Sihem, is killed in a suicide bombing. Also try The Swallows of Kabul.
Bliss by Zulfu Livaneli
Fifteen-year-old Meryem lives in a rural village in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. Her simple, conventional way of life changes dramatically after her uncle, a sheikh in a dervish order, rapes her – and condemns her to death for shaming the family. An affecting, by turns brutal and life-affirming, portrayal of traditional and modern-day Turkey.
Midaq Alley by Najib Mahfuz
Considered by many to be Mahfuz's best novel, Midaq Alley centers around the residents of one of the hustling, teeming back alleys of Cairo. No other novel so vividly evokes the sights and sounds of the city. The universality and timelessness of this book cannot be denied. Also try Arabian Nights and Days and Palace Walk.
In The Country of Men by Hisham Matar
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, In the Country of Men is a stunning depiction of a child confronted with the private fallout of a public nightmare. Matar writes in a voice that shifts gracefully between the adult exile looking back and the young boy experiencing these events through his limited, confused point of view.
Created by L. Philpotts – West Regional Library – 11-5-08 – Annotations from Barnes & Noble.com.
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
At once a fiendishly devious mystery, a beguiling love story, and a brilliant symposium on the power of art, My Name Is Red is a transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of 16th-century Istanbul, from one of the most prominent contemporary Turkish writers. Also try Snow.
The Covenant by Naomi Ragen
Ragen, an American writer who's lived in Israel for more than 30 years, blends tragedies of the past with headline news of today in her gripping, emotionally charged sixth novel. A deft mix of past and present, the story’s as much political thriller as conventional tale about the ties of family and friendship.
Ali and Nino: A Love Story by Kurban Said
Ali Khan Shirvanshir, a Muslim schoolboy from a proud, aristocratic family, has fallen in love with the beautiful and enigmatic Nino Kipiani, a Christian girl with distinctly European sensibilities. Set mostly in Azerbaijan during WWI and the Russian Revolution, this captivating novel is a cinematic mix of romance and wartime adventure.
The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafek
From one of Turkey's most acclaimed and outspoken writers comes a novel about the tangled histories of two families. Filled with humor and understanding, this exuberant, dramatic novel is about memory and forgetting, about the tension between the need to examine the past and the desire to erase it.
A Pigeon and a Boy by Meir Shalev
Unforgettable in both its particulars and its sweep, A Pigeon and A Boy is a tale of lovers then and now – of how deeply we love, of what home is, and why we, like pigeons trained to fly in one direction only, must eventually return to it. Shalev was awarded the Brenner Prize, Israel’s highest literary recognition, for this novel.
The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer
In the aftermath of the Iranian revolution, rare-gem dealer Isaac Amin is arrested, wrongly accused of being a spy. Terrified by his disappearance, his family must reconcile a new world of cruelty and chaos with the collapse of everything they have known.
The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif
At either end of the 20th century, two women fall in love with men outside their familiar worlds. This novel, which was shortlisted for Britain's prestigious Booker Prize, is a mesmerizing tale of genuine eloquence and lasting importance.
The Liberated Bride by Abraham B Yehoshua
Yohanan Rivlin, a professor at Haifa University, is a man of boundless and often naïve curiosity. When one of Rivlin's students – a young Arab bride from a village in the Galilee – is assigned to help with his research in recent Algerian history, a two-pronged mystery develops. Also try A Woman in Jerusalem.