The Judges Citation on Lost in Mecca
Seasoned Kuwaiti novelist Bothayna Al-Essa is deservedly shortlisted for this dark literary thriller in a debut translation by Nada Faris. The novel opens with a vivid Hajj scene, where the chaos of the crowd leads to Mishari’s hand slipping out of his mother’s. This moment marks the beginning of a desperate quest that reveals, in Judge Raphael Cohen’s words, “the underbelly behind the marble, glass and concrete”.
Through a series of shocking revelations about Mishari’s whereabouts and the psychological unravelling of his parents, Al-Essa immerses readers in a world fraught with criminality and exploitation spanning Saudi Arabia and Egypt. While a work of considerable imagination, the author’s acknowledgements (only in the Arabic text) hint at substantial research that grounds the story in reality. The book is notable for its depiction of the psychological unravelling of Mishari’s parents, contrasted with the backdrop of the rituals of the Hajj. An initial façade of orderliness gives way to an unflinching examination of race and class politics and the fragility of both faith and privilege.
Faris’s translation manages to capture Al-Essa’s poetic style and preserve the urgency of the narrative, making this thought-provoking work both devastating and impactful.
Cohen described this novel as “full of powerful and shocking scenes and a real page turner”. He commended Nada Faris’s extended translator’s note and hoped it would encourage more translators to reflect on their practice.
For Judge Michael Caines, Lost in Mecca proved, from the very first page, “to be gripping and all too credible, as it reveals the full horror of a child abduction”. He added, “Skilfully narrated from multiple perspectives, the translator, editor (M. Lynx Qualey) and publisher all deserve praise for making Bothayna Al-Essa’s novel available to anglophone read.

https://www.banipaltrust.org.uk/prize...Lost in Mecca