Arab Women Voice New Realities

by Roseanne Saad Khalaf (Co-editor), Dima Nasser (Co-editor)

The discourse of Arab women speaking out, refusing to be silent, and voicing their experiences, is alive and ever-growing. Arab Women Voice New Realities presents an archive of living, breathing stories of women making promises and confessions, women coming to terms with traumatic pasts, negotiating complex present realities, and imagining alternative liberating futures. This collection attempts to bridge the gap among women writers, seasoned and novice. It spans a large geographical space, uncovers the depth of distinct experiences, and ultimately offers a platform for voice and visibility to the new Arab woman. These stories are instantiations, records, and they will never be told in the same way again. Seldom do we get the chance to see a literary project through in a relatively short period of time, especially one which involves many writers, translators, artists, designers and publishing members.

Genres: Lebanon, Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

Published November 24, 2017

Reviews

[Nadia Tabbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am one of the 27 authors in this book, and it is such an honor. The other stories are spectacular... some shook me to the core, others made me laugh, others still made me contemplative; wondering about home and survival in it. Read it. Read these stories....

[Yasmina Hatem · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a unique book. To have so many arab women write from so many different perspectives is a wonderful, insightful read.

[Lara Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. Each story is so touching and easy to empathise with, especially if you have any sort of Arab background. It almost feels therapeutic - so many aspects of the different accounts are immensely relatable, and it is both liberating and heartbreaking to acknowledge and voice the sometimes beautiful, but often backwards ways of our culture. Despite this, it is a celebration of Arab women. Even if you don't relate to these stories, they are so insightful and just beautiful to read and I would highly recommend it to both men and women. An extraordinary way to understand the complexities of a woman's life in this region of the world, and maybe even see the likeness to that of other areas of the world. Even though this book was sometimes hard to read because of the emotions it enticed, it was also greatly empowering - as if we girls unite with every turn of the page. Remember to love and support the women around you, always.

A huge heartwarming hats-off to the curators and all the authors. Would love to see more work like this!

[Noura · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Arab woman who aspires to become a writer, reading this has been so heartwarming. I felt like I was speaking to women whom I've known my entire life. This book needed to exist!

[Lara El Mekaui · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not read more than one story in a sitting. Each story affected me in a specific way that required me to sit back and ponder after reading. "Silent Letters" by Gabi Taoufiq,hit home in terms of the struggle between family, love, sex, and awareness, all issues that I struggled with as a teen and now. Hind Shoufani's long essay, is forceful and empowering, striking the chords of the attachment and significance our bodies carry. Truly the selection of stories in this anthology is enticing and endearing.

[fra · Rating 2 out of 5]

the pursuit of this book is great, however, there are very few stories in it that stand out, & it also at times felt unedited. style-wise most stories are not interesting. adania shibli is absolutely someone to look out for though, which i will be doing.

[Amany Al Sayyed · Rating 5 out of 5]

My book! Because I wrote a story in it :) I love you if you tell me what you think. Mine is a story of fracture, love and adventure set in contemporary Andalucia. But the 24 other short stories by women in Lebanon and the region are gold

Best wishes,
A

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this anthology which is a mix of short stories written by Arab women. I personally favored all of the 3 stories that came under the "Disturbing Reflections" theme which were written by "Rima Rantisi", "Zaina Erhaim" and "Hafsa Bouheddou", loving their writing style and the sequence of events. Well done to all!

[Ninette Kamel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each woman's story has its specific message and style. I have read about the strong woman who felt so tired, the wife who chose to learn and succeed, the mother who lost her child... I was able to relate to some of the stories but all of them are well written and have message to us!