What do you think?
Rate this book
Flying Carpets
Flying Carpets is a story collection in the grand tradition of Arab storytelling. In it, Habra masterfully waves her writing wand and takes us on a journey as we read about people and places far away and encounter temples and mountain villages, gliding boats and fragrant kitchens, flaming fish and rich tapestries.
206 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
1 person is currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Hedy Habra
15 books18 followersHedy Habra was born in Egypt, and is of Lebanese origin. She has authored four poetry collections, most recently, Or Did You Ever See The Other Side? (Press 53 2023). The Taste of the Earth won the Silver Nautilus Award and honorable mention for the Eric Hoffer Award, and was finalist for the Best Book Award. Her ekphrastic collection, Under Brushstrokes, was finalist for the USA Best Book Award and the International Book Award, and her first collection, Tea in Heliopolis, won the USA Best Book Award and was finalist for the International Book Award. Her story collection, Flying Carpets, won the Arab American National Book Award’s Honorable Mention and was finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award.
Her book of literary criticism, Mundos alternos y artísticos en Vargas Llosa focuses on the visual in the narrative of the Peruvian Nobel Laureate. A recipient of the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Award, she was a twenty-one-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Habra has a BA in Pharmacy. She also has an MA and MFA in English and an MA and Ph.D. in Spanish. She is fluent in five languages and her work appears in The Bitter Oleander, Blue Fifth Review, California Quarterly, Cider Press Review, Cimarron Review, The Cortland Review, Cutthroat, Diode, The Ekphrastic Review, Gargoyle, Indelible, The MacGuffin, MockingHeart Review, Nimrod, Pirene's Fountain, Poet Lore, Slant, Tiferet, World Literature Today and Verse Daily. Habra is also an artist who has a passion for art. She has taught Spanish at Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo College. Her website is hedyhabra.com
Her book of literary criticism, Mundos alternos y artísticos en Vargas Llosa focuses on the visual in the narrative of the Peruvian Nobel Laureate. A recipient of the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Award, she was a twenty-one-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Habra has a BA in Pharmacy. She also has an MA and MFA in English and an MA and Ph.D. in Spanish. She is fluent in five languages and her work appears in The Bitter Oleander, Blue Fifth Review, California Quarterly, Cider Press Review, Cimarron Review, The Cortland Review, Cutthroat, Diode, The Ekphrastic Review, Gargoyle, Indelible, The MacGuffin, MockingHeart Review, Nimrod, Pirene's Fountain, Poet Lore, Slant, Tiferet, World Literature Today and Verse Daily. Habra is also an artist who has a passion for art. She has taught Spanish at Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo College. Her website is hedyhabra.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 14, 2013
I grew up reading Latvian folk tales, and as an adult, I have often experienced that a-ha moment of realization that much of my value system, my work ethic, my life outlook, has been developed by those enchanting tales of my childhood. Oh, how I loved to read as a little girl! And still do. So when I opened up Flying Carpets, and immersed in the world on the page before me, I felt myself as if traveling back in time to that sweet world of long ago.
Initially, I couldn't quite understand why I was so drawn to these tales of exotic lands, magic and fantasy, but then I realized that childhood connection. That's it! We all love going back, back to our past of innocence and wonder—and Hedy Habra masterfully waves her writing wand and brings us there with this collection.
These are stories influenced by the author's Middle Eastern background in Egypt and Lebanon. From there fly and float these magic carpets, as we read about temples and mountain villages, gliding boats and fragrant kitchens, flaming fish and rich tapestries. Traditions surface to conflict with contemporary issues. The further into the book one reads, the more fantastical the stories become.
Habra's language, which no doubt is only enriched by the fact that the author speaks several, lulls with a powerful magic of its own:
"Calm down, child. Fear is a gust of cold wind you must not allow in your mind or heart. The way torrential storms ruthlessly invade fragile houses, fear's whirling eddies will possess you, penetrating through the least fissures … Look closely and see how tightly woven is the braided wheat wreath framing her, protecting her from all winged creatures, stallions, falcons, lions, even from angels. Like her, retreat into your center." (Page 175)
Habra's language alone is enough to transport. These are fairy tales for the adults who still believe—and those who need awakening from forgetting how to believe. These stories tell tales of love and loss, of a longing to leave the known behind and enter something greater and more universal—and surely that is the echo of the universal human heart. Each story builds an intimate world around the reader, often, but not always, with strong women in leading roles, even when they are struggling against cultural constraints demanding conformity. Through magical realism, these characters reflect the inner voices many of us hold deep inside.
Flying Carpets is a story collection in the grand tradition of storytelling. For those who know Habra's poetry, discovering her equal expertise in prose will be a treat.
Hedy Habra, born and raised in Egypt, is of Lebanese origin. She received her M.F.A. and a Ph.D. in Spanish Literature from Western Michigan University where she currently teaches. Her poetry and fiction in French, Spanish, and English have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including The Smoking Poet, Puerto del Sol, The New York Quarterly, Cider Press Review, Nimrod, Poet Lore, and Dinarzad's Children Second Edition. Her critical essays have appeared in literary journals such as Chasqui and Latin American Literary Review. Her newest title is Tea in Heliopolis, a poetry collection published by Press 53.
Initially, I couldn't quite understand why I was so drawn to these tales of exotic lands, magic and fantasy, but then I realized that childhood connection. That's it! We all love going back, back to our past of innocence and wonder—and Hedy Habra masterfully waves her writing wand and brings us there with this collection.
These are stories influenced by the author's Middle Eastern background in Egypt and Lebanon. From there fly and float these magic carpets, as we read about temples and mountain villages, gliding boats and fragrant kitchens, flaming fish and rich tapestries. Traditions surface to conflict with contemporary issues. The further into the book one reads, the more fantastical the stories become.
Habra's language, which no doubt is only enriched by the fact that the author speaks several, lulls with a powerful magic of its own:
"Calm down, child. Fear is a gust of cold wind you must not allow in your mind or heart. The way torrential storms ruthlessly invade fragile houses, fear's whirling eddies will possess you, penetrating through the least fissures … Look closely and see how tightly woven is the braided wheat wreath framing her, protecting her from all winged creatures, stallions, falcons, lions, even from angels. Like her, retreat into your center." (Page 175)
Habra's language alone is enough to transport. These are fairy tales for the adults who still believe—and those who need awakening from forgetting how to believe. These stories tell tales of love and loss, of a longing to leave the known behind and enter something greater and more universal—and surely that is the echo of the universal human heart. Each story builds an intimate world around the reader, often, but not always, with strong women in leading roles, even when they are struggling against cultural constraints demanding conformity. Through magical realism, these characters reflect the inner voices many of us hold deep inside.
Flying Carpets is a story collection in the grand tradition of storytelling. For those who know Habra's poetry, discovering her equal expertise in prose will be a treat.
Hedy Habra, born and raised in Egypt, is of Lebanese origin. She received her M.F.A. and a Ph.D. in Spanish Literature from Western Michigan University where she currently teaches. Her poetry and fiction in French, Spanish, and English have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including The Smoking Poet, Puerto del Sol, The New York Quarterly, Cider Press Review, Nimrod, Poet Lore, and Dinarzad's Children Second Edition. Her critical essays have appeared in literary journals such as Chasqui and Latin American Literary Review. Her newest title is Tea in Heliopolis, a poetry collection published by Press 53.
August 5, 2013
Always refreshing to find a new voice. Habra's work is steeped in the mysticism and lyricism of the Middle East. Rarely do I get a chance to travel to that part of the world through a poet's eyes. Her best stories are the magical realism ones or the ones in which love and longing force the main character to transcend some obstacle, be it cultural or personal. Most are traditional length with some shorter works mixed in. One of my favorite last lines in a contemporary story (from "Search"):
"Like oversized gloves, or those becoming useless over swelled fingers, words no longer fit the meaning, and the most difficult to harness, love, could never coexist harmoniously in combination with others. Its vivid and elusive nature reminded him of mercury. He closed his eyes and recalled his experiments with the gliding silvery substance, breaking loose at the least touch into infinitely small particles, bubbles of scintillating water, schools of shimmering silver fish."
"Like oversized gloves, or those becoming useless over swelled fingers, words no longer fit the meaning, and the most difficult to harness, love, could never coexist harmoniously in combination with others. Its vivid and elusive nature reminded him of mercury. He closed his eyes and recalled his experiments with the gliding silvery substance, breaking loose at the least touch into infinitely small particles, bubbles of scintillating water, schools of shimmering silver fish."
February 8, 2017
Hedy Habra's poetry collection FLYING CARPETS will take you on a splendid, surprising, magical journey. Habra is a superb storyteller.
September 13, 2016
I have found this book deeply enchanting. Flying Carpets takes us on a journey to see the glimpses of life in the middle east, not commonly known to the western readers. Every story in this book is like a memoir, a history, and a promise to the future. Language of Hedy Habra is rich and her expressions are unique. I loved the details in the layers of every story, making this book an authentic and enjoyable read.
Read
February 10, 2013Review of Hedy Habra's Flying Carpets by Stuart Dybek:
Hedy Habra`s FLYING CARPETS is a collection of enchantments and wonders charmingly recounted, deeply imagined, and composed with lyrical exactitude. It belongs to that rare tradition of books whose spells grow increasingly seductive with each new story. "
Stuart Dybek, author of Coast of Chicago and Sailing With Magellan
Hedy Habra`s FLYING CARPETS is a collection of enchantments and wonders charmingly recounted, deeply imagined, and composed with lyrical exactitude. It belongs to that rare tradition of books whose spells grow increasingly seductive with each new story. "
Stuart Dybek, author of Coast of Chicago and Sailing With Magellan
August 2, 2022
Really loved this book. I was surprised it’s not more popular, considering it’s very well written.
December 3, 2014
Since 2002 when our country went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, I’ve read more than 20 books, mainly non-fiction, that take place in the Middle East. When my interest began, I felt it was my duty as a US citizen to learn more about the countries and cultures that our government and media claimed were a threat to our security. I was hoping to prove them wrong by educating myself and finding common ground between Western and Middle Eastern peoples. Perhaps I did a poor job of choosing what I read, but rather than feeling a stronger connection to the Middle East I developed a completely unanticipated estrangement. The more I read, the more I felt as though I was gaining insight into a near-alien set of customs and values.
This leads me to the thing I found the most beautiful about Flying Carpets. It’s the first book I’ve read where I felt what I was expecting to feel when I started my pursuit of a deeper understanding. In Ms. Habra’s stories, I at last feel a kindred connection. I see myself and western peoples in the characters. Her stories reside outside politics and extreme religious beliefs and deal with the day-to-day. Her book is art whereas the books I’ve read in the past are journalism. Her book paints whereas the books I’ve read previously report.
Flying Carpets is the product of someone whom I consider to be a member of the intellectual elite. Yet, there is still a down-to-earth quality about many of the stories. Ms. Habra’s point-of-view is perhaps quite westernized but her roots are in the Middle East and I have to believe that works like Flying Carpets can only help close the gap between Western and Middle Eastern cultures. In my mind, she has successfully managed to present many images of Middle Eastern life to which I can relate in a way that previous books have failed to do.
This leads me to the thing I found the most beautiful about Flying Carpets. It’s the first book I’ve read where I felt what I was expecting to feel when I started my pursuit of a deeper understanding. In Ms. Habra’s stories, I at last feel a kindred connection. I see myself and western peoples in the characters. Her stories reside outside politics and extreme religious beliefs and deal with the day-to-day. Her book is art whereas the books I’ve read in the past are journalism. Her book paints whereas the books I’ve read previously report.
Flying Carpets is the product of someone whom I consider to be a member of the intellectual elite. Yet, there is still a down-to-earth quality about many of the stories. Ms. Habra’s point-of-view is perhaps quite westernized but her roots are in the Middle East and I have to believe that works like Flying Carpets can only help close the gap between Western and Middle Eastern cultures. In my mind, she has successfully managed to present many images of Middle Eastern life to which I can relate in a way that previous books have failed to do.
Read
April 2, 2014"The reader, or at least this reader, wishes the stories in the last two sections were less 'dreamlike' and more 'rooted in time and space,' to quote the approving assertions of the back-cover blurb. Generally speaking, the further along in the book the story is, the less successful it is." - M. D. Allen, University of Wisconsin, Fox Valley
This book was reviewed in the March 2014 issue of World Literature Today. Read the full review by visiting our website: http://bit.ly/1hgfx3r
This book was reviewed in the March 2014 issue of World Literature Today. Read the full review by visiting our website: http://bit.ly/1hgfx3r
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews