Upcoming Kutub Books

Upcoming titles for Kutub include:

• December 7th – Season of Migration to the North (Mawsim al-Hiǧra ilā ash-Shamāl) by Tayyeb Salih
• January 4th – Khalil Gibran, selected works
• February 1st – Gate of the Sun (Bab al-Shams) by Elias Khoury
  

Ordering Books

To make sure you have the book of the month in time to read it before our discussions, we suggest you try to order them in advance. Sometimes it is hard to find certain titles locally either in one or both languages.

Resources we suggest include the following. Please let us know if you have other suggestions!

For Arabic books:

• El Rayyes Books: http://www.elrayyesbooks.com/
• Neelwafurat: www.Neelwafurat.com
• Antar’s Bookshop: +9617724882 or http://www.antarbookshop.com/contact.htm
• Dar el Hilal: http://www.darelhilal.com/
• Al Maktabah: http://www.almaktabah.eu/index.php

For English books:

• Saqi Books: http://www.saqibooks.com/
• American University in Cairo Press: http://www.aucpress.com/
• Archipelago Books: http://www.archipelagobooks.org/
• City Lights: http://www.citylights.com/

Season of Migration to the North (Mawsim al-Hiǧra ilā ash-Shamāl) by Tayyeb Salih

In December 2009 we shall discuss Season of Migration to the North (Mawsim al-Hiǧra ilā ash-Shamāl) by Tayyeb Salih.

First discussed by Kutub in 2006 Kutub we look forward to revisit this classic post-colonial novel by the Sudanese writer Tayyeb Salih (sometimes written as Tayeb Saleh or Al-Tayyib Salih), who sadly passed away in early 2009. Confronting displacement and post-colonial aftermath, this book (originally published in Arabic in 1966) is a modern Arabic classic and a vivid portrayal of racial and sexual tension. A fascinating read that’s strong character belies its slim spine, Season of Mirgration explores anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism, self-destruction, cultural exoticism, and manipulations of power.

2009 Summer Reading List

To celebrate the summer wedding season try:

• Wedding Night by Yusuf Abu Rayya
• The Wedding of Zein and other Stories by Tayeb Saleh
• Wedding by the Sea by Abdelkader Benali
• Wedding Song by Naguib Mahfouz

For a change,why not explore some non-fiction:

• Fragments of Memory: A Story of a Syrian Family, by Syrian author Hanna Mina
• Children of the Roojme: A Family’s Journey From Lebanon by Elmaz Abinader
• Return to Childhood: The Memoir of a Modern Moroccan Woman by Leila Abouzeid, Elizabeth Fernea

Short story collections make great Travel books:

• Oranges in the Sun: Short Stories from the Arabian Gulf, edited by Akers and Bagader
• Short Stories by Saudi Arabian Women Writers, edited by Ava Heinrichsdorff
• A Last Glass of Tea and Other Stories by Mohammed el Bisatie
• Native Informant: Six Tales of Defiance from the Arab World by Ramzi Salti

To try more by authors we’ve read before, we suggest:

• The Image, the Icon, and the Covenant by Sahar Khalifeh
• Samarkand by Amin Maalouf
• Story of a City by Abdul Rahman Munif
• Beirut Blues by Hanan al-Shaykh

To learn about authors we have yet to read in Kutub, we suggest:

• Sharon and My Mother-in-law by Suad al-Amiry
• Leaving Beirut by Mai Ghoussoub
• The Ship by Jabra Ibrahim
• The Tongue’s Blood Does Not Run Dry by Assia Djebar
• Naphtalene: A Novel of Baghdad, by Iraqi author Alia Mamdouh

Modern Arabic Short Stories: A Bilingual Reader by Daniel L. Newman, Ronak Husni

Next month – June (1st) – we shall discuss the second half of Modern Arabic Short Stories: A Bilingual Reader by Daniel L. Newman, Ronak Husni. This work features twelve stories by contemporary masters from Morocco to Iraq. The twelve stories collected here are by leading authors of the short story form in the Middle East today. We read the first half for our meeting in May.

In addition to works by writers already well-known in the West such as Idwar al-Kharrat, Fuad al-Takarli and Nobel Prize-winning Naguib Mahfouz, key authors whose fame has hitherto been restricted to the Middle East are also included. This bilingual reader is ideal for students of Arabic as well as lovers of literature who wish to broaden their appreciation of the work of Middle Eastern writers. The collection features stories in both English and Arabic, prefaced by a brief author biography plus notes on context and background. Each story is followed by a glossary and discussion of problematic language points.

Winter 2008 Book Suggestions

More books we hope to read soon include:

• The New Year of the Revolutionary Bread Making Machine by Hassan Daoud
• Woman at Point Zero (Imra’a ‘ind Nuqtat al-Sifr) Nawal As Sadaawi
• The Last Chapter by Leila Abouzeid
• Aunt Saffiya & the Monastery ( خالتي صفية والدير ) by Bahaa Tahe
• The Secret Life of Saaed the Pessoptomist by Emile Habiby
• Black Magic by Hamdy el-Ghazzar
• Leaves of Narcissus (Awraq Al-Narjis) by Somaya Ramadan
• The Map of Love by Ahdaf Souei
  
• Hikayat: Short Stories by Lebanese Women, Edited by Roseanne Saad Khalaf

“Hikayat – Short Stories by Lebanese Women”

Hikayat – Short Stories by Lebanese Women — Edited by Roseanne Saad Khalaf.

This introduction included here with thanks and all credit to Roseanne Saad Khalaf.  To purchase and for more information on the book, please see: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hikayat-Short-Stories-Lebanese-Women/dp/1846590116

The selections presented in this anthology bring together contemporary stories and prose pieces by established Lebanese women authors as well as promising young writers. They highlight the diversity, startling originality and compelling richness of women’s voices and experiences in a dynamic, fast-changing cosmopolitan society. Collectively, the narratives span three distinct but overlapping eras: the pre-war period, often considered the golden age in Lebanon; the two decades of protracted civil strife; followed by the postwar phase of reconstruction and reconciliation.

Summer 2008 Reading List

For the Summer 2008 we suggested the following short story collections. A great way to get to know authors and a range of stories from across the region, our recommendations include works by Yusuf Idris and Mohammed El-Bisatie of Egypt, Mohammed Al-Murr of the UAE, Hanan al-Shaykh of Lebanon, Ghassan Kanafani of Palestine, and Tayeb Salih of the Sudan.

Kaleem Books

We are excited to announce the launch of Kaleem Books – www.kaleembooks.com - a new Arabic Literature Publishing house that is looking to transform the Arabic publishing world.

Kaleem Books has published its first book: Tunisian Tale (Hikaya Tunisiyya) by Hassouna Al Mosbahi. Renowned Tunisian author Hassouna Al Mosbahi, uses this sordid story to transport us to “M” slum, festering with poor immigrants who have come from the Tunisian heartland to the metropolis, looking for a better life. Currently only printed in Arabic – copies available at the gallery.

Interested in joining the Kaleem team? They are hiring!
Go to www.kaleembooks.com to find out more.

List of Books We Might Read

For now, here is an unsorted list of books we might read…suggestions, tips, reviews are welcome. We have tried to sort the list by country and author so it is easier to peruse.

Libya

Ibrahim Al-Koni

· Badhth An al-Makan al Da’I (al-Mu’assas al-Arabiya lil-Firassat wal-Nashr

· Anubis

 

Egypt

Alifa Rifaat

· Distant View of a Minaret

Yahya Taher Abdullah

· The Mountain of Green Tea & Other Stories

Edward Al-Kharrat

· Stones of Bobello

· Girls of Alexandrai

· Rama & the Dragon

Ghamal al Ghitani

· Pyramid Texts

· Zayni Barakat

Hamdy Abowgliel

· Lusus mutaqa’idun/Thieves of Retirement

Ibrahim Alsan

· The Heron

· Nile Sparrows

Mourid Barghouti

· I Saw Ramallah

Yusuf Abu Rayya

· The Wedding Night

Mohammed El-Bisatie

· Over The Bridge

· Clamour of the Lake

· Houses Behind the Trees

Yahya Hakki

· The Lamp of Umm Hashim & Other Stories

Sonallah Ibrahim

· The Committee

Ibrahim Abdel Megid

· Distant Train

Sabri Moussa

· Seeds of Corruption

Latifa al-Zayyat

· The Search

· The Open Door

Hala al Badry

· A Certain Woman

· Muntaha

Ibrahim Abdel Magid

· Birds of Amber

· No One Sleeps in Alexandria

· The Other Place

Miral al Tahawy

· Blue Aubergine

· The Tent

Yusuf Idris

· City of Love & Ashes

Idris Ali

· Dongola

Somaya Ramadan

· Leaves of Narcissus

Bahaa Taher

· Love in Excile

Ahdaf Soueif

· Map of Love

· In the Eye of the Sun

Naguib Mahfouz

· Children of the Alley

Nawal el-Saadawi

· God Dies by the Nile

· Woman at Point Zero

· The Fall of the Imam

Tawfik al Hakim

· Diary of a County Prosecutor

· Fate of a Cockroach

· The Prison of Life

 

Iraq

Betool Khedairi

· Absent

Samuel Shimon

· An Iraqi in Paris

Khalid Kishtainy

· Tomorrow is Another Day

Mohammad Khudayyir

· Basrayatha

Fadhil Al-Azzwani

· The Last of the Angels

Alia Mamdouh

· The Loved Ones

· Naphtalene

Hala El Badry

· Muntaha: A Village Novel

Fuad al Takarli

· The Long Way Back

Selim Matar

· The Woman of the Flast

 

Tunisia

Hassan Nasr

· Return to Dar al-Basha

 

Algeria

Assia Djebar

· A Sister to Scheherazade

· Fantasia

Ahlam Mosteghanemi

· The Chaos of the Senses

 

Lebanon

Elias Khoury

· The Little Mountain, 1977

· The Gates of the City, 1981

· The Journey of Little Gandhi, 1989

· The Kingdom of Strangers, 1993

· Yalo, 2002

Hannan al-Shaykh

· I Sweep the Sun off the Rooftops

· Only in London

· Women of Sand and Myrrh

Yussef Bazzi

· Yasser Arafat Looked at Me & Smiled

Suhail Shadoud

· Burning in the Past tense

Hoda Barakat

· The Tiller of Waters

· Disciples of Passion

Ghada Samman

· The Night of the First Billion

· Beirut Nightmares

Leila al Atrash

· A Woman of Five Seasons

Amin Maalouf

· Samarkind

Rashid al Daif

· This Side of Innocence

· Passage to Dusk

· Dear Mr Kawabata

 

Saudi Arabia

Turki al-Hamad

· Adama

· Shumaisi

Zainab Hifni

· I Weep No Longer

Abdullah Al-Taezi

· Al Hafa’ir Still Lives

Abd al Rahman Munif

· Cities of Salt

Abdallah al Nasser

· The Tree and Other Stories

Hamza Bogary

· The Sheltered Corner

 

Morocco

Mohamed Berrada

· Fugitive Light

Leila Abouzeid

· The Last Chapter

· The Year of the Elephant

Bensalem Himmich

· The Polymath

· The Theocrat

 

Syria

Hanna Mina

· Fragments of a Memory

Muhammad Kamil al-Khatib

· Just Like a River

Rafik Schami

· Damascus Nights

Ghada Samman

· Beirut Nightmare

Ulfat Idilbi

· Sabriya

 

Israel

Emile Habiby

· The Secret Life of Saaed the Pessoptomist

· Saraya, The Ogre’s Daughter

 

Palestine

Sahar Khalifeh

· Wild Thorns

· The Image, The Icon, The Covenant

Fadwa Tuqan

· Mountain Journey

 

Yemen

Mohammed Abdul Wali

· They Die Strangers

Books and Authors Not Sorted by Country

Nedjma (an unknown North African Muslim woman writer, using the Pseudonym Nedjma)

· The Almond