Middle East/North African Lit discussion

The 2020 title for Librarians and Archivists with Palestine’s international reading campaign, One Book, Many Communities is The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem, translated from the original Arabic by Sinan Antoon.

They are going to be holding book groups around the world in May and June. Should we also have a simultaneous online book group, in May and June, discussing these titles?

I wrote about this book for the Times Literary Supplement & am happy to talk about it; I think it provides a lot of rich areas for discussion.

Good idea, do you think we would have The Book of Disappearance as the official read in May and June?
The other titles ?

I vote for The Book Of Disappearance for the official May and June read.

Marcia, would you please post a cite to your review in The Times Literary Supplement. Thanks

Nan wrote: "Marcia, would you please post a cite to your review in The Times Literary Supplement. Thanks"

I am glad you are interested :)

I marked The Book of Disappearance as an official read in May and June :)

I have just ordered the book and look foward to joining the discussion in May/ June. The synopsis looks really intriguing...

Majdouline wrote: "I have just ordered the book and look foward to joining the discussion in May/ June. The synopsis looks really intriguing..."

Majdouline wrote: "I have just ordered the book and look foward to joining the discussion in May/ June. The synopsis looks really intriguing..."

That looks interesting! I will order too so I can join in!

I'm trying to find the original Arabic text for a local reading group. If anyone has a lead please dm me.

I've tried to buy a print text, but it appears to be back ordered.

aj wrote: "I'm trying to find the original Arabic text for a local reading group. If anyone has a lead please dm me.

I've tried to buy a print text, but it appears to be back ordered."

Does this work?
https://www.neelwafurat.com/itempage....

Niledaughter wrote: "aj wrote: "I'm trying to find the original Arabic text for a local reading group. If anyone has a lead please dm me.

I've tried to buy a print text, but it appears to be back ordered."

Does this ..."

Thank you!

I guess we will be discussing this book starting from this month :)

@ Niledaughter Good morning !
Are we reading the book of disappearance this month ? I hope so, as I had received my version already :)

Niledaughter wrote: "I guess we will be discussing this book starting from this month :)"

Great! Look forward to discussing!

Hello everyone! I'd like to note that -- if you've been having trouble getting the book in English -- Ibtisam noted on Twitter that it's now available as an ebook on Amazon and Google Play:

https://twitter.com/IbtisamAzem/statu...

As for the Arabic, could anyone who is looking for an e-copy of that email me at mlynxqualey@gmail.com? Thanks!

Also, Librarians and Archivists for Palestine has some great questions about the book. One of the questions was:

*When a crisis like a mass disappearance takes place, the way people and institutions behave says a lot about the society we live in. How are the reactions from the characters in The Book of Disappearance revealing? Can you think of examples from your own life experiences?*

[I'd just note that, when Ursula & I discussed the novel on BULAQ, she also recalled some US film -- I can't remember the title at the moment -- when the conceit was that all Mexican people suddenly disappeared from California.]

Hello everyone, has someone started to read " The book of disappearance "
I have just started and although it is too soon for having an opinion whereas I would like to raise a question.
At the moment the style is challenging as it's a kind of style I am not used to. The sentences are very short, mainly descriptive and it feels like I am screening a movie in the surface.
What about the arabic version ? Is it the same ? Is it the impression that we are suppose to have ?
I am really keen to finish the book mainly for the topic it touches. But I am scared that this type of narrative create some distance in between mr and the characters.
This is only my first impression after reading few chapters, so of course that can totally change. I would love to hear your opinion :)

A friend of mine who is interested in what is happening in Palestine right now. She is part of a group who have tried to offer support to students at a school. Their group will be reading this book.

In an effort to further the groups understanding, She has asked for a list of books that talk about what happened in 1948 or there about s.

If anyone has any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You

Hello everyone!
I have finished the book and would like to give my impressions and hear yours.
I loved the book even if I struggle in the first half of it. That was mainly due to the fact that it reads like a scriptplay rather than a novel.
I still think that a movie would be a great support for the story.

In the second half of the book it did not bother me anymore ( I may have just got used to it or was more engaged with the characters).
I would love to discuss the different layers of the novel with you.
This book made me raise a lot of questions:
Is silence the best way to convey a message for someone who dont listen?
Could you ever make a point to someone who does not want to listen but just hear ?
How could you keep hope when there is none. When no course of your actions could have an impact in your life what do you do?


I dont want to spoil anything, so I will just wait that the conversations start :)

I just got the book today. Glad for the questions to use a guide when thinking about what I’ve read.

Nan wrote: "A friend of mine who is interested in what is happening in Palestine right now. She is part of a group who have tried to offer support to students at a school. Their group will be reading this book..."

I think a lot of the books we read in the group can work, I listed it in here - first post
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Among them

- The Question of Palestine
- Time of White Horses
- Mornings in Jenin
- In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story
- Dancing Arabs and The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist
- The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East
- A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and The Creation of the Modern Middle East

Thank You, Niledaughter. I will pass this list on.
I recently finished Saeed:The Pessoptimist. Seems relevant to what’s happening in this country today.

Nan wrote: "A friend of mine who is interested in what is happening in Palestine right now. She is part of a group who have tried to offer support to students at a school. Their group will be reading this book..."

One more recommendation A Map of Absence: An Anthology of Palestinian Writing on the Nakba

Thank You Kenza,
I recently bought this book but haven’t read it yet. I’ve read other poems by Darwish. Seems like his work is important reading.

If anyone's interested, Ibtisam will be on a live Q&A tomorrow with Librarians & Archivists for Palestine:
https://twitter.com/Librarians2Pal/st...

Majdouline wrote: "Hello everyone!
I have finished the book and would like to give my impressions and hear yours.
I loved the book even if I struggle in the first half of it. That was mainly due to the fact that it r..."

Interesting! I think I enjoy novels that are dialogue-heavy and read like screenplays. Can you explain why this was a turn-off for you?

I had a book discussion and we talked about the different ways that voices were represented and speakers or listeners were absent in certain conversations. Alaa does not speak specifically about the Disappearance, but his words are present as Ariel is thinking about it. There are conversations between Israelis with no Palestinians participating, yet the author is Palestinian. The primary characters are men being written by a woman, and the women characters are underdeveloped in comparison.