Middle East/North African Lit discussion

Now I am reading now A Thousand Splendid Suns , I wanted a quick stop in Afghanistan before entering Palestinian books stop .

I'm currently reading Amin Maalouf's new novel Les désorientés. The book received such rave reviews that I was a bit disappointed after reading the first chapters: I had an impression of déjà-vu in the way he treated the themes (immigration, identity, marital fidelity). None the less, I kept reading it, and was soon rewarded: the personal life stories of each caracter are quite unique, as each one decides to stay or leave their home country which is in a state of war (the name of the country is never mentionned, it could easily be any middle east country who had to put up with revolutions, dictators, colonialism, corruption, etc.) Only a few chapters to go...

I am reading A world without Islam still in the beginning. Hope i will like it especially I did not read a full book for a while now.

Miss Juliette wrote: "I'm currently reading Amin Maalouf's new novel Les désorientés. The book received such rave reviews that I was a bit disappointed after reading the first chapters: I had an impression of déjà-vu in..."

Is that his newest book ? only available in French ?

Ghada wrote: "I am reading A world without Islam still in the beginning. Hope i will like it especially I did not read a full book for a while now."

A World Without Islam seems interesting , waiting to know your opinion .

Hello, I'm Marwa. New to this group. Right now I'm reading "An Incident of Honor", collected short stories by Youssef Idris. It is so simple yet witty and real. It contains reflections on the Egyptian society from big cities to country swamps. Some stories are agonizing, others make you break out with laughter.

Hi, Marwa. Welcome to the group.

NG, how are you enjoying it so far? I really liked it.

Tonight I have to read Atiq Rahimi's Gouncourt Prize winner "The Patience Stone".

Hello, i'm a new member... I'm reading wild swans .. Almost finished with it.. Cant wait to start reading radwa ashour,s book " thulAthiyat ghurnata"

Delia wrote: "Hi, Marwa. Welcome to the group.

NG, how are you enjoying it so far? I really liked it.

Tonight I have to read Atiq Rahimi's Gouncourt Prize winner "The Patience Stone"."

Hello, Delia. Actually, the book carries the essence of its own times and reflections on ours. What I like most about it is that it's humaine. Not narrative, nor eventful. It's core remarks on human behaviour. Maybe, it's because Youssef Idris was essentially a doctor.

BTW, your book sounds like a good read. I hope I can dig into it sometime soon.

Marwa wrote: "Hello, I'm Marwa. New to this group. Right now I'm reading "An Incident of Honor", collected short stories by Youssef Idris. It is so simple yet witty and real. It contains reflections on the Egypt..."

Welcome in the group :) I love Yusuf Idris, The Sinners is one of my favorites .

Marwa wrote: "Hello, Delia. Actually, the book carries the essence of its own times and reflections on ours. What I like most about it is that it's humaine. Not narrative, nor eventful. It's core remarks on human behaviour. Maybe, it's because Youssef Idris was essentially a doctor."

100% agree :)

Delia wrote: "Hi, Marwa. Welcome to the group.

NG, how are you enjoying it so far? I really liked it.

Tonight I have to read Atiq Rahimi's Gouncourt Prize winner "The Patience Stone"."

I am enjoying A Thousand Splendid Suns a lot , the problem that I am very busy and reading very slowly :( ....The Patience Stone is on my to read list , how is it ?

Nile daughter wrote: "Miss Juliette wrote: "I'm currently reading Amin Maalouf's new novel Les désorientés. The book received such rave reviews that I was a bit disappointed after reading the first chapters: I had an im..."

Yes, it's his new book, and it appears to be available only in French at this time. I'll do some research and try to find out when it will be translated.

Nile daughter wrote: "Miss Juliette wrote: "I'm currently reading Amin Maalouf's new novel Les désorientés. The book received such rave reviews that I was a bit disappointed after reading the first chapters: I had an im..."

Hello Nile daughter,
Sadly enough, I'm coming up empty handed after my research for Les désorientés's translation. I suppose we just need to pay attention to the published new titles in the next few months! In the meantime, if I ever hear or see anything about it, I'll post it on this link!

Ghada wrote: "I am reading A world without Islam still in the beginning. Hope i will like it especially I did not read a full book for a while now."

Hi Ghada, are you enjoying the book? I bought it a few months back, though I still haven't found the time to read it. The topic does sound very interesting!

Miss Juliette wrote: "Nile daughter wrote: "Miss Juliette wrote: "I'm currently reading Amin Maalouf's new novel Les désorientés. The book received such rave reviews that I was a bit disappointed after reading the first..."

It is OK , I have so many books to read :) thanks for checking .

I just looked up Disoriented Worlds by Maalouf. Will put it on my to read list!

I guess that's 'Disordered Worlds". My mistake

Kate wrote: "I guess that's 'Disordered Worlds". My mistake"

You mean Disordered World: A Vision for the Post-9 ? I will check for other editions to combine , was it originally written in English ?

Never mind , I got it seems a good book to follow In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong .

Nile daughter wrote: "Never mind , I got it seems a good book to follow In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong ."

Yes, yes, Disordered World: Setting a New Course for the 21st Century and In the Name of Identity both seem very interesting! But they are non-fiction books. Les désorientés is his latest novel, written in French. All these translations can sometime be confusing!! :)

Phillipa wrote, "Hi Ghada, are you enjoying the book? I bought it a few months back, though I still haven't found the time to read it. The topic does sound very interesting!"
I still cannot give a final opinion on the book but it is interesting so far. I am slow not because the book is bad but my reading time is getter less and less every day. I will post something when I finish though I already have a couple of issues on the book, but I think it will not be fair to it if I post them now.

This is kind of off topic, because Uzbekistan is more Central Asia than Middle East, I think, but I've to an copy of The Poet and Bin Laden from Library Thing to review, so I'm heading over to get a bird's eye view of Uzbek history. Looks like this one is going to be challenging for me.

Ardene wrote: "This is kind of off topic, because Uzbekistan is more Central Asia than Middle East, I think, but I've to an copy of The Poet and Bin Laden from Library Thing to review, so I'm heading over to get ..."

I didn't hear of Hamid Ismailov before , what do you think of it so far ?
*****

I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns, it was a heartbreaking novel , yet have so many good points , but something was missing for me , I wanted to give it 3 starts but then I gave it 4 .

Now I am reading Swallows Of Kabul, that will be my first for Yasmina Khadraand my second book about Afghanistan , then joining the group in reading Moon Over Samarqand .

I've just finished The Yacoubian Building and I'm curious to know others opinions about it. I had to read it because everywhere I turned I'd hear someone mentioning it. It was a good read but I feel it would make a bigger impression on someone uninitiated in the Egyptian and wider Middle Eastern literature than it did on me.

I'm now reading Cities of Salt by Abdelrahman Munif.

Delia wrote: "I've just finished The Yacoubian Building and I'm curious to know others opinions about it. I had to read it because everywhere I turned I'd hear someone mentioning it. It was a good read but I fe..."

I wish you were around when we discussed "The Yacoubian Building" but you can still check the discussion and comment if you like :

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

Waiting to hear your impression about "cities of salt" ,I didn't have a chance to read it yet
BTW ... discussion here :

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

ND, thank you so much for the links. They're very useful. I'll let you know how I liked Cities of Salt as soon as I'm done with it.

Delia wrote: "ND, thank you so much for the links. They're very useful. I'll let you know how I liked Cities of Salt as soon as I'm done with it."

You are welcome , enjoy reading :)

Bessy wrote: "I'm reading Pathfinders: The Golden Age of Arabic Science. It's gonna be a long read but I'm thinking it's educational."

Sounds like an interesting read ! keep us informed .

Beside Gate of the Sun , Now I am reading a Sudanese novella The Grub Hunter, it was shortlisted for Arabic Booker 2011 .

Nile daughter wrote: "Bessy wrote: "I'm reading Pathfinders: The Golden Age of Arabic Science. It's gonna be a long read but I'm thinking it's educational."

Sounds like an interesting read ! keep us informed .

Beside ..."

Nile Daughter, please keep me/us informed on

The Grub Hunter. I was looking at this list yesterday (http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/columns...), and they all seem very interesting! I don't know which one too choose first for my next reading!!

Hello Everyone,
Right now I'm reading Aleph. It probably has so little to do with MENA, but a strange feeling is coming over me because it seems to be about reincarnation. Anyone has a clue what I should be expecting here??

P.s: Plz, don't mention anything about the ending :) .

Miss Juliette wrote: "Nile Daughter, please keep me/us informed on

The Grub Hunter. I was looking at this list yesterday (http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/columns...), and they all seem very interesting! I don't know which one too choose first for my next reading!! ..."

I haven't finish it it , though it is an easy read , I will tell you my opinion when I finish .

For the list :
I heard of Tree of Pearls, Queen of Egypt translation before (someone posted about it ) but I didn't read for Jurji Zaydan before :( ! - Shajar al-Durr (Tree of Pearls) is defiantly a special figure to read about .

I read In Praise of Hatred last year , hatred was a real icon here , It was a heavy read with multiple threads that it is not only about Syria , but her links to other countries , there is Turkey , KSA, Yemen , Afghanistan . the heroin has a very complicated character, we see a lot through her change from right to left .

I am not aware of The Girl Who Fell to Earth: A Memoir (I will check it ) , while Days In the Diasporais already on my to-read list , it seems interesting .

Marwa wrote: "Hello Everyone,
Right now I'm reading Aleph. It probably has so little to do with MENA, but a strange feeling is coming over me because it seems to be about reincarnation. Anyone has a clue what I ..."

I didn't read anything for Paulo Coelho for very long time now .

I'm reading Anna Karenina

I'm reading The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak. An easy book to read. Is it because it isn't a translation? I still haven't found a copy of Moon Over Samarqand

Kate wrote: "I'm reading The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak. An easy book to read. Is it because it isn't a translation? I still haven't found a copy of Moon Over Samarqand"

I think so , I haven't read it yet , did you have a chance to check the discussion ?

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/6...

Kate wrote: "I'm reading The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak. An easy book to read. Is it because it isn't a translation? I still haven't found a copy of Moon Over Samarqand"

It's because Elif Shafak writes her books both in Turkish and in English, and then goes back to edit both versions. So it feels very natural because basically, the book doesn't have just 1 original language but 2.

Miss Juliette wrote: "Nile Daughter, please keep me/us informed on ..."

I finished "The Grub hunter" , it was interesting , it didn't attract me much , but it has a clear message .

I'm reading "The Blue Elephant" الفيل الأزرق by Ahmad Murad. It's supposed to be a thriller that takes place in a psychiatric hospital. It's interesting, as a matter of fact. And I liked the writer's style and fluidity of discription. I've already read another thriller of his, "Diamond dust" تراب الماس, but it didn't appeal to me much.

Marwa wrote: "I'm reading "The Blue Elephant" الفيل الأزرق by Ahmad Murad. It's supposed to be a thriller that takes place in a psychiatric hospital. It's interesting, as a matter of fact. And I liked the writer..."
Heard some good stuff about it , but I haven't read for Ahmed Mouradyet !

*BTW for those who are interested ; his first published novel and best seller Vertigo is now available in English . More in "The Guardian "
" By day, I shot my boss Hosni Mubarak. By night, I dreamt of dictator's downfall"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/...

I'm not reading anything Middle East related at the moment, but I did just order The Gaze and The Museum of Innocence. And I'm also getting Honour for Christmas :)

The Davinci code

Before I Go To Sleep , by S.J. Watson and The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Whoever that hasn't read A Tale of Two Cities yet, is missing a lot. :)

Philippa wrote: "I'm not reading anything Middle East related at the moment, but I did just order The Gaze and The Museum of Innocence. And I'm also getting Honour for Christmas :)"

I saw "Honour" in a bookstore yesterday , but I haven't read for Safak yet ! :(

I like the variety in posts , thanks everyone :)

Nile daughter wrote: "Philippa wrote: "I'm not reading anything Middle East related at the moment, but I did just order The Gaze and The Museum of Innocence. And I'm also getting Honour for Christmas :)"

I saw "Honour"..."

I've read 2 of her books so far,
The Forty Rules of Love and The Bastard of Istanbul and I thought both were fantastic. I can highly recommend reading some of Elif Shafak's work!

I just finished The Patience Stone and Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi. I agree with Marwa's post above that Atiq writes stories exposing the private struggles within human nature. He takes you on a tour of the inner thoughts and emotions of his characters and makes you privy to their secrets and how they cope with life around them.

Gone Girl

I am reading A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea and am enjoying this novel.

Diane wrote: "I am reading A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea and am enjoying this novel."

I will check that one .

Starting The Inbetween Peoplewhich is getting very good reviews.

Well I've finally started reading Fast Times in Palestine today, and so far I love it :)