The Book of Khartoum: A City in Short Fiction

Reading the City: A City in Short Fiction

by Raph Cormack (Editor, Translator), Max Shmookler (Editor, Translator), Bushra al-Fadil

Khartoum, according to one theory, takes its name from the Beja word hartooma, meaning ‘meeting place’. Geographically, culturally and historically, the Sudanese capital is certainly that: a meeting place of the Blue and White Niles, a confluence of Arabic and African histories, and a destination point for countless refugees displaced by Sudan’s long, troubled history of forced migration.

In the pages of this book – the first major anthology of Sudanese stories to be translated into English – the city also stands as a meeting place for ideas: where the promise and glamour of the big city meets its tough social realities; where traces of a colonial past are still visible in day-to-day life; where the dreams of a young boy, playing in his father’s shop, act out a future that may one day be his. Diverse literary styles also come together here: the political satire of Ahmed al-Malik; the surrealist poetics of Bushra al-Fadil; the social realism of the first postcolonial authors; and the lyrical abstraction of the new ‘Iksir’ generation. As with any great city, it is from these complex tensions that the best stories begin.

Genres: Short Stories, Sudan, Fiction, Africa, African Literature, Cities, Anthologies

80 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2015

Reviews

[Alan (the Lone Librarian rides again) Teder · Rating 4 out of 5]

City of Discovery
Review of the Comma Press paperback edition (2016), part of the Reading the City series.

This anthology collects 10 short stories from Sudanese writers centering around the topic of the city of Khartoum. The stories and styles have a wide variety and include humour, drama, surrealism, magic realism and historical fiction. The stories include:

1) The Tank by Ahmed al-Malik
2) In the City by Ali al-Makk
3) A Boy Playing with Dolls by Isa al-Hilu
4) It's Not Important, Your From There by Arthur Gabriel Yak
5) Next Eid by Bawadir Bashir
6) Passing by Rania Mamoun
7) The Story of the Girl Whose Birds Flew Away by Bushra al-Fadil
8) The Passage by Mamoun Eltlib
9) The Butcher's Daughter by Abdel Aziz Baraka Sakin
10) The Void by Hammour Ziada

The final story, The Void, has the largest impact as it is a mini-epic in 13 parts in only 16 pages about the defeat of Sudanese Mahdist forces by British and Egyptian forces at the Battle of Omdurman (1898).

My thanks to Comma Press who provided this book as a bonus for my Translation Fiction Online Book Club order of Thirteen Months of Sunrise.

[KenyanBibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

All hits, no misses

[Rob Withers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd ordered this before the travel ban, but in its wake, I thought it was important to understand and highlight the humanity and commonness of people from these countries. Sometimes difficult reading, but well worth it for a glimpse of a sometimes similar, sometimes difficult way of life.

[— sab · Rating 3 out of 5]

"but who claimed the city he was returning to was the same one he’d left? when dreams are broken and disenchantment sets in, nothing stays the same."

the void was so so so so so good oh my god.

[Bogi Takács]

Short but exciting! Very different themes and approaches to Khartoum & its environs. My favorite stories were "The Tank" by Ahmed al-Malik, translated by Adam Talib - this just had the exact kind of social commentary evoked by a surreal situation that I love, about someone who buys a tank. From a middleman. As you do. (Specifically relatable to me as a Hungarian.) And also "The Void" by Hammour Ziada, translated by Kareem James Abu-Zeid, a both beautiful and utterly crushing historical piece. That last page :O

This is the third book I've read in the Reading the City series, and I really appreciated all three of them (Books of Gaza, Ramallah, Khartoum - in this order). I'm planning on reading the whole set. I'm also planning on reading more Sudanese fiction; previously I'd only read Sudanese poetry. Sadly the back matter says "the first major anthology of Sudanese stories to be translated into English" and I really really hope there are going to be more. I know there are novels out there, but short stories have a special place in my heart.
_____
Source of the book: Present from Charles A. Tan from my wishlist! Thank you so much!!

[Katie Sikkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars even though there were a lot of stories that I didn't understand.

[Kamran Sehgal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was quite excited for this volume as it is rare enough to find works in English of collected Sudanese works. But found this volume a bit disappointing.

The most interesting for me was the piece by Bushra al-Fadil 'The Story of the Girl whose Bird's flew away' was the most impressive though I had come across it previously when it had won the Caine Prize in 2017.

Overall I was hoping for some more substance coming from a book claiming to be a book of a city with well over 5 million people.

[ClareT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first foray into translated short stories. I chose the book as a Christmas present as I realised I hadn't read very much translated fiction, and virtually nothing from outside Europe.
There are ten short stories from different authors, written over about 50 years, with Khartoum as the link.

I loved some of the stories more than others. Passing was particularly beautiful, others I didn't quite understand, such as the boy who played with dolls. Still others just didn't touch me at all - the first one, The Tank, most of all. However, All were interesting as a collection and I certainly will reread these stories and try and find more translated work from a few of the authors.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up in London in 2016. We were there for the week leading up to the Brexit vote, the same week the Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered. We attended the vigil. As I was wandering around the campus of the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE), and stopped into their bookstore, this book’s cover pulled me in. The short stories in here are really excellent. Some funny - especially “The Tank”, where a man buys a used tank and rolls it home and a cascade of society treats him differently as a result. And thoughtful coming of age stories. It’s a great read, and the translations seem smooth. I’ve been enamoured of Sudan since I first wrote a paper on the region in first year university. This is an accessible read, and well worth the time. #52in22 #amreading

[Jordan]

leaving this unrated because even though a majority of these stories were just okay, I don’t think that reflects poorly on the collection as a whole. I often feel unsatisfied with short stories because they feel unfinished or the message is unclear and that was the case here as well.

despite that disconnect i still appreciated stories like “next eid” and “the butcher’s daughter” for the insight they provided on the city’s culture. I still recommend this as a sampling of contemporary sudanese authors and plan to read other books in the “a city in short fiction” series.

my standouts:
* A boy playing with dolls by Isa al-Hilu
* Passing by Rania Mamoun

[Becca Younk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the idea of Comma Press' Reading the City series. It's such a great way to get access to a lot of writers from a city or country you might not read often, or get much literature from. I chose Khartoum because I don't think I've read any fiction out of Sudan. Khartoum the city is essentially a character in all the stories. The stories are a wide range, from magical realism to a war epic. I think my favorite was actually the first story, which involves a man purchasing a military tank and keeping it at his house.

[Amr]

I enjoyed reading the book because most of the short stories were written in a very smooth way that teleported me to Sudan. I liked the creative idea behind "The Tank" short story and how a civilian was using a tank for his transportation. Also "In The City" short story and how a young person from the village tried to cope with life in the city. One more short story I liked is "A boy playing with dolls" because it took me to my childhood games when I used to play with my toys and imaginations.

A good read!

[Ocean G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this series of "A City in Short Fiction". As with any collection of short stories, these are hit or miss. I imagine many were over my head, but it was all enthralling nevertheless, given this is the first collection of Sudanese stories I've ever been able to read.

My favorite stories:
The Tank
A Boy Playing with Dolls (I think?)
Passing
The story of the girl whose birds flew away (I think?)

[Takkusaan Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

How many Sudanese writers have you read in your life? In my case it's been very few and here's a book that allows you to have a peak in a selection of contemporary Sudanese fiction. If you are curious and love poetic language, this is a book for you. I would have appreciated an edition with longer excerpts though, hence only three stars. Also: why, almost as a rule, are the original titles in literature translated from the Arabic so often missing?

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

My second read from the Reading the City series - fewer kilometres from home than Tokyo but still feeling truly far flung, my appreciation of the workability of the concept bedding in.

The concerns of the people in these stories are different, acute. There is violent conflict, we are taken into the past, religion has a strong influence... but the young are young everywhere.

I especially appreciated the introduction as Khartoum is somewhere virtually unknown to me.

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short book of very short stories. Benefit is that you can savour them slowly, but less chance for the city and its population to make an impression. Translations are very readable, but can't help but feel that some contexts and references are out of reach for the non native reader

[A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great translations and selection of a variety of different Sudanese short stories centered around Khartoum - the nuance of topics, literary styles, descriptive tones, and lengths are welcome and interesting

Nice, quick read for anyone looking to appreciate Sudanese literature and life

4.5/5

[Bonyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short contextual stories of Khartoum

The books has interesting short stories that give some insights of culture and relationships, as well as past glories of the people of Sudan.

[Mills College Library]

Fiction B7243 2016

[Mourning_elf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another 10 short stories with Khartoum as the setting. My favorite are The Tank by Ahmed al-Malik and Next Eid by Bawadir Bashir.

[Maddy Muller · Rating 4 out of 5]

my first dive into Sudanese literature and it did not disappoint !!

super short and truly captivating

[J Kuria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not familiar.

[Zuberino · Rating 3 out of 5]

only a couple of half-decent stories in this collection

[Lucy Thorneycroft · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed 'The Void' and 'The Passage' but was less impressed with some of the stories such as 'The Butcher's Daughter'. Overall, a quite nice collection.

[Joshua Friesen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good selection of stories.

[World Literature Today]

This book was featured in the Nota Benes section of the January 2017 issue of World Literature Today Magazine.

https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/...