Middle East/North African Lit discussion

2016 Overview / Planning / Envisioning

For 2016, we suggest taking a break from our regional tour in order to allow ourselves to pick more books for their own sake.

So far we have had a suggestion for more women authors. We are also considering offering a series of rotating categories, such as: Classics, Light Reads, New Authors, Historical Fiction, etc. There have also been suggestions for reads from literature/writing that has come out of the Arab Spring, and writings from Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain.

What do you think? Are there certain categories or books that you would like to see in 2016?

Here are some books that I think could be good for discussion, and that I think most people could access...

Women:
I Want to Get Married!: One Wannabe Bride's Misadventures with Handsome Houdinis, Technicolor Grooms, Morality Police, and Other Mr. Not-Quite-Rights ("light read," comedy)

Distant View of a Minaret and Other Stories (a "classic")

Classics:
Something by Khairi Shalabi. I have two on my list: The Time-Travels of the Man Who Sold Pickles and Sweets and The Lodging House: A Modern Arabic Novel

The Seven Days of Man

Khan Al-Khalili

Anything by Mourid Barghouti, such as I Was Born There, I Was Born Here.

I'd love to read some historical fiction by Jurji Zaydan, such as Tree of Pearls, Queen of Egypt, but I'm not sure it will be easy for people to access.

There are also a couple of poetry books that I will probably suggest later in 2016 (in our poetry section).

What are your thoughts? What do you want to read together in 2016? The discussion is officially open!

I think I have that Barghouti on my real shelf waiting to be read...

Many of the books you mention look appealing to me Melanie. I like the idea of reading some classics then perhaps a few themes.
How about writers in exile as a theme where we read books from authors who are from one place and now live in another?
Examples would be The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela who us Sudanese living in Scottland
Or Cockroach by Rawi Hage a Lebanese living in Canada.
And as I mentioned in another thread, I love the idea of woman writers!
That would give me an excuse to read more Leila Aboulela and Elif Shafek!

Keep going , great brainstorming !:)

I think reading about Syria will be very interesting. Anyway there a book that I suggest which is The Crusades Through Arab Eyes

What about introducing autobiography/memoir as a category? There are some brilliant autobiographies/life writing texts from the Middle East. In fact, Barghouti's is one of them. There are lots written by women too.

I hope to be more involved in future! I am writing up my PhD at the moment so have very little time for reading outside of that these days. So unfortunate because I always want to join in with what everyone is reading!

I wasn't sure under which discussion thread to post this but I wanted to re-share it as we're looking at 2016. I saw it on Words without Borders.

"More than ever before, novels by Arab writers are reaching new audiences in the west. More of their work is being translated into English and there are also growing numbers of Arabs who choose to write in English or French."

http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/culture...

I like the idea of the diaspora, it's been a theme in my reading life for a long time and since there are so many countryies from which people in the Middle East/North Africa have left, it's very easy to find. I just had a surprisingly pleasant read by author Leila Aboulela.

The flip side to the diaspora is writing by authors who are here (MENA) and who write about place. Thinking of Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh

Thanks for sharing everyone ! :) I hope we will have a rich year with all these ideas on our table !

Ming wrote: "I wasn't sure under which discussion thread to post this but I wanted to re-share it as we're looking at 2016. I saw it on Words without Borders.

"More than ever before, novels by Arab writers are..."

Thanks , that was a very interesting article , I read it fast and I need to reread it again , but this quote caught my attention :

" who Arab writers think they are writing for, and how far they should go in adjusting their work to the sensitivities of different audiences. If they want to write critically about Arab society, should they worry about the risk of confirming stereotypes and popular misunderstandings?"

I would love to read more about Syria as well (my future brother-in-law is from there) but I've learn we don't get much non-Western book choices in our tiny Country. So I would also like to vote for Arab spring (some books are available here) and/or women writers.
Last year -stan Countries topic was inpossible to me to follow because of Slovenian poor book choice. I hope to be more lucky, this year :)

Kate wrote: "I like the idea of the diaspora, it's been a theme in my reading life for a long time and since there are so many countryies from which people in the Middle East/North Africa have left, it's very e..."

I would very happily read Shehadeh's book again as I have it on my re=read list.

I also want to read Birds of Amber after having read and very much liked Birds of Amber. It has been waiting on my shelf for a while now.

I like this open-ended idea a lot.

I would like to read more from Syria. I read Tigers On The Tenth Day And Other Stories by Zakaria Tamer a couple of years ago and I think it is the best book I have read from this region so far. I would also like to read more classics.

I think you're all probably familiar with it on here - but was checking out the fantastically informative Arabic Literature website: www.arablit.org and a novel from Libya by Mansour Bushnaf, 'Chewing Gum' caught my eye!
never read anything from Libya before, and this certainly sounds fascinating indeed. Unless it's been covered/read before?

Full article about the book: http://arablit.org/2014/07/20/a-novel...

Also, any other suggestions for Libyan writers/writing/authors I should check out...send them this way.

thanks

I am glad there are so many ideas ! thank you all for this positive interaction and I hope will be able to work on a rich plan that can satisfy most of the members :D

Niraj wrote: "I think you're all probably familiar with it on here - but was checking out the fantastically informative Arabic Literature website: www.arablit.org and a novel from Libya by Mansour Bushnaf, 'Chew..."

Try our bookshelves , and Libya listopia on Goodreads , also check this discussion:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
and this
http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/is...

Niraj wrote: "I think you're all probably familiar with it on here - but was checking out the fantastically informative Arabic Literature website: www.arablit.org and a novel from Libya by Mansour Bushnaf, 'Chew..."

Got a good one for you Niraj:

A Stage Across the Sea

An unjustly-neglected Libyan novelist captured the twisted logic of colonialism, past and present.

http://www.thenation.com/article/a-st...

The novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

That sounds thrilling. Thanks for the heads up on that one, ReemK10, and for the links to the forums ND !

Niraj wrote: "That sounds thrilling. Thanks for the heads up on that one, ReemK10, and for the links to the forums ND !"

You are welcome :)
*******



نينوفر wrote: "I think reading about Syria will be very interesting. Anyway there a book that I suggest which is The Crusades Through Arab Eyes"

امير فرستال فرستال wrote: "نينوفر wrote: "I think reading about Syria will be very interesting. Anyway there a book that I suggest which is The Crusades Through Arab Eyes"

I second that, excellent read!"

For you and for all who are interested in reading in the history of the region , would you like to have a look and participate in this thread " Readings in the history of the middle east"
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

we are still discussing what we are going to do in 2016 , we want to push discussing Syria topic further ..

Martina wrote: "I would love to read more about Syria as well (my future brother-in-law is from there) but I've learn we don't get much non-Western book choices in our tiny Country. So I would also like to vote fo..."

Please can you participate here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Niledaughter wrote: "we are still discussing what we are going to do in 2016 , we want to push discussing Syria topic further ..

Martina wrote: "I would love to read more about Syria as well (my future brother-in-law ..."

I am in for reading books from Syria as well!
Because I loved both of these books we had group reads for The Translator by Leila Aboulela and A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam I would like to read more books from these authors ideally in a group read.
I guess they could count in a theme for Women writers or Middle Eastern Authors living abroad.

Great Jalila :) we are also thinking about multiple projects .

Jalilah wrote: "How about writers in exile as a theme where we read books from author..."

For Jalilah and others who read Aboulela's The Translator this year, I just read a note by Ann Morgan on Aboulela's discussion of her new book The Kindness of Enemies. I've copied the excerpt below, and it's from here...


"Then it was off to the McNeillie tent, where Leila Aboulela was talking about her new book, The Kindness of Enemies. Set partly in present-day Scotland and partly in the Caucasus mountains during the Crimean War, the novel explores the concept of jihad and the problems that come with moving across borders. It was, Aboulela said, partly motivated by her desire to ‘put Muslim culture in English literature’."

Sound interesting? Maybe we'll consider reading this book in 2016, perhaps in the context of reading exile / diaspora MENA Lit.

Melanie wrote: "For Jalilah and others who read Aboulela's The Translator this year, I just read a note by A
Sound interesting? Maybe we'll consider reading this book in 2016, perhaps in the context of reading exile / diaspora MENA Lit.
..."

Yes! Very interesting! I definitely want to read it!

Also The Good Muslim by Tahmima Anam. It's the sequel to A Golden Age

Hello everyone ,
Here is a brief of what we are planning to do in 2016 - a time line , polls and details will follow later :

1- Arab spring
we will dedicate the beginning of the year to Arab spring , mainly Syria and Tunisia .

2- Different themes project
This will follow the Arab spring and the polls will give more details . also we will spend the rest of the year in this project .

3- challenge for "Literature by Women"

This will start by the beginning of the year .

For #2 Different Themes Project, please vote in our
poll for the fiction book that you would most like to read together in 2016. You can write in a book if none of those listed will work for you. Thank you for considering reading with us! :)

Please check:
2016 ...what are we doing ?

"Reading about Arab spring ....before and after

Bargouti is fantastic. Definitely should add it to the list. :)

Leslie wrote: "Bargouti is fantastic. Definitely should add it to the list. :)"

It seems we may read more than book for him next year :)

An Unnecessary Woman has been on my list for some time and I am likely to join readings of Said

Adib wrote: "For some literature out of Lebanon, An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine is an interesting read, and De Niro's Game too. Both are Lebanese authors writing in English. I would also suggest an sh..."

Welcome Adib ! Thanks for sharing your recommendations An Unnecessary Woman ,De Niro's Game , In the Heart of the Heart of Another Country and Out of Place- not sure if we read the last one or not , I need to check . I added the recommendations to our bookshelves and hopefully they will make their way to our next polls .

For those of you interested in reading more literature from Syria, here is a link that includes English translations of excerpts from three Syrian novels:
http://www.andotherstories.org/arabic...
The novels are: الوباء / The Epidemic, القوقعة: يوميات متلصص / The Shell, and معراج الموت / Ascension to Death.

And three more Syrian books for discussion here:
http://www.andotherstories.org/arabic...

No Knives in the Kitchens of this City by Khaled Khalifa, The Caves of Hydrahodahose by Salim Barakat, and The Gist of It by Rasha Abbas.

Melanie wrote: "For those of you interested in reading more literature from Syria, here is a link that includes English translations of excerpts from three Syrian novels:
http://www.andotherstories.org/arabic......"

Thanks! I am definitely interested!

Hi everyone, I suggest we should read some books by Israeli writers.

These are my suggestions:
To the end of the land - David Grossman
Jews and Words - Amos Oz and & Fania Oz-Salzberger
A tale of love and darkness - Amos Oz
Emile Habibi - The secret life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist
Ari Shavit - My promised land: the triumph and tragedy of Israel

I also propose to expand our reading of Turkish writers. What about reading 'Last Train to Istanbul' by Ayse Kulin? I haven't read it so far. I would also love to read more by Elif Shafak.

Emile Habibi is a Palestinian.Arab Israeli. Saeed the Pessoptimist is a gem! You must read it!

Hana and Reem, great ideas. I've read Oz's Tales of Love and Darkness...excellent...and want to read more by him. I've read a little Turkish writing but want to read more. And I do like to discover more Palestinian authors. As always, how to fit everything in.

Reem, yes I know that he's Arab but he's still Israeli :) I will try to get his book from the internet, it seems that it's not so readily available.

No Hana, Emil Habibi is a Palestinian who wrote in Arabic and is part of the Palestinian literary oeuvre. Arabic literature. He was later translated into Hebrew.

Reem, Israelis can be both Arabs or Jews or other ethnicity. I think you are making a confusion between Jews and Israelis. Emile Habibi had Israeli citizenship. Also Israel has both Hebrew and Arabic as their official languages. But I can understand that for political reasons some people would like to see him only as Palestinian regardless of his citizenship :)
I won't add anything else because I don't want to delve into politics.

Hana wrote: "Reem, yes I know that he's Arab but he's still Israeli :) I will try to get his book from the internet, it seems that it's not so readily available."

I noticed that too. Hate when books are hard to get.

You're funny Hana if you think I'm confused about Jews and Israelis. My point is that Emile Habibi was a Palestinian writer writing the Palestinian narrative. When you read The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptomist you'll get a better understanding of who he was and who he was writing for.

It is great to see new activity here :)
welcome Hana , we will consider your recommendations in our next polls , so far please check our upcoming reads for the first half of 2016 .
we already had (A tale of love and Darkness) as a group read , may be two years ago , I will check the thread .
Reem I read ( the secret life of Speed ) a while a go , diffently the kind of book to read again to digest/ understand , I missed a lot of its metaphors!

Niledaughter wrote: "It is great to see new activity here :)
welcome Hana , we will consider your recommendations in our next polls , so far please check our upcoming reads for the first half of 2016 .
we already had (..."

Oh well, then I guess I missed it. I should have joined 2 years ago.
I'll check the next reads.

ReemK10 (Paper Pills) wrote: "You're funny Hana if you think I'm confused about Jews and Israelis. My point is that Emile Habibi was a Palestinian writer writing the Palestinian narrative. When you read The Secret Life of Saeed..."

I think I understand your point now. It's just that some words and what they mean for different people can be confusing.

Hana wrote: "Niledaughter wrote: "It is great to see new activity here :)
welcome Hana , we will consider your recommendations in our next polls , so far please check our upcoming reads for the first half of 20..."

Here is the link to the discussion of " a tale of love and darkness)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Here is the list for our upcoming reads
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Thanks again for the recommendations , we still have space after May :)

Hana, I know you'll enjoy reading Habibi. I loved this book!Absolutely delightful! Cheers :)

This sounds good: http://www.nudge-book.com/blog/2015/0...

Thanks for the recommendation!