Books We Have Read

These links will take you to more information about the books we have read and their authors. You can also scroll down to read more on each book.

• Tiller of the Waters (Harith al-Miyah) by Hoda Barakat
• Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz
• Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz
• Wild Thorns by Sahar Khalifeh
• Palace Walk (Bayn al-qasrayn) by Naguib Mahfouz
• For Bread Alone (al-Khubz al-Hafi) by Mohamed Choukri
• Yalo by Elias Khoury
• Adama by Turki Al-Hamad
• Remembering Mahmoud Darwish
• I Saw Ramallah ( Ra’aytu Ram Allah) by Mourid Al Barghouti
  
• Taxi by Khaled Al Khamissi
  
• Absent (Ghayeb) by Betool Khedairi
• Chicago by Alaa Al-Aswani
• The Stone of Laughter (Hajar al dahik) by Huda Barakat
• The Lodging House (Wikalat Atiya) by Khairy Shalaby
• Rock of Tanios (Le rocher de tanios) by Amin Maalouf
• I’jaam by Sinan Antoon
• Bleeding of the Stone (Nazif al Hajar) by Ibrahim al Koni
• Girls of Riyadh (Benaat al Riyadh) by Rajaa Alsanea
• Endings (Al Nehayat) by Abd al-Rahman Munif
• The Inheritance (Al Mirath) by Sahar Khalifeh
• The Story of Zahra (Hikayat Zahrah) by Hanan al-Shaykh
• Zaat by Sonallah Ibrahim
• Being Abbas Elabd (An Takoun Abbas El Abd) by Ahmed Alaidy
• The Yacoubian Building (Imārat Yaʿqūbīān) by Ala Aswani
• Gate of the Sun (Bab al Shams) by Elias Khoury
• Leo the African (Leon l’Africain) by Amin Maalouf
• Palace Walk (Bayn al-qasrayn) by Naguib Mahfouz
• The Memory of the Flesh (Dhakirat Al-Jasad) by Ahlam Mostaghanemi
• Season of Migration to the North (Mawsim al-Hiǧra ilā ash-Shamāl) by Tayyeb Salih
• The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (Les Croisades vues par les Arabes) by Amin Maalouf

Tiller of the Waters (Harith al-Miyah) by Hoda Barakat

On Monday, November 2nd met to discuss Tiller of the Waters (Harith al-Miyah) by Lebanese writer Hoda Barakat.

Barakat is a fabulous ‘tiller’ of the human soul, with a rebellious gaze defying classification as well as a captivating literary style. Tiller of the Waters features a protagonist stuck in Beirut’s gutted center unable to escape the barricades, and the sea, surrounding him on all sides. Translator: Marilyn Booth and published by: American University in Cairo Press. Barakat received the prestigious Naguib Mahfuz Medal for Literature this book in 2000.

Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz

In October 2009 we gathered to discuss Sugar Street, the final volume of Naguib Mahfouz’s famous Cairo Trilogy.

The conclusion of the Egyptian family we have now followed from the WWI to the independence of Egypt, brings many changes and introspection from the characters we first met as young children.  With the coming of modern ages, this final volume most clearly explores traditions in a changing world. It is a superb book and an essential read for anyone curious about Egyptian history or Arab culture.

The Cairo Trilogy is available at most locally based bookstores.

Wild Thorns by Sahar Khalifeh

For July 2009 we discussed Wild Thorns by Sahar Khalifeh. The book was first published in 1976 and translated into English in 2005, was the first Arab novel to offer a glimpse of social and personal relations under Israeli occupation.  Featuring unsentimental portrayals of everyday life, its deep sincerity, uncompromising honesty and rich emotional core plead elegantly for the cause of survival in the face of oppression.

Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz

On September 7th, 2009 we met to discuss Palace of Desire, the second in Naguib Mahfouz’s famous Cairo Trilogy.

We read the first volume from the trilogy – The Palace Walk – in April 2009 and the final volume – Sugar Street - in October 2009.  Through the story of an Egyptian family from the WWI to the independence of Egypt, it explores traditions in a changing world. It is a superb book and an essential read for anyone curious about Egyptian history or Arab culture.

Palace Walk (Bayn al-qasrayn) by Naguib Mahfouz

For our April discussion we re-read the classic Palace Walk (Bayn al-qasrayn) by Naguib Mahfouz.

While this was an October 2006 Kutub selection, it is a classic and worth returning to read again – plus many readers missed it the first time. The Palace Walk (note the original Arabic title literally translates to Between the Two Palaces) is the first of a trilogy titled The Cairo Trilogy (written 1956-1957), which goes on to include Palace of Desire and Sugar Street. Through the story of an Egyptian family from the WWI to the independence of Egypt, it explores traditions in a changing world. It is a superb book and an essential read for anyone curious about Egyptian history or Arab culture.

For Bread Alone (al-Khubz al-Hafi) by Mohamed Choukri

On March 2nd, we discussed For Bread Alone (al-Khubz al-Hafi) by Mohamed Choukri.

One of Choukri’s best known works, this autobiographical novel was described by the American playwright Tennessee Williams as ‘A true document of human desperation, shattering in its impact.’ 

Yalo By Elias Khoury

Yalo By Elias Khoury was discussed on Monday, February 2nd. 

After his acclaimed Gate of the Sun, Khoury returns with the spellbinding confession of Beirut criminal Daniel Jal’u, aka Yalo, who is picked up by the cops for rape, robbery and suspicion of arms smuggling. Under torture and the threat of more torture, Yalo writes numerous confessions, but seems unable to grasp the whole of his life, producing instead a series of conflicting sequences and inexplicable omissions. Brought up by his grandfather Ephraim, a half-mad Syriac priest, and his mother, Gaby, Yalo joins the army in 1979 and fights in the horrific Lebanese civil wars already under way. Deserting 10 years later, Yalo, after a series of adventures, ends up working as a guard for a rich lawyer whose villa is close to a wooded lovers lane; he progresses from voyeurism to robbing and, in some cases, rape. In so doing he meets Shirin, who will change his life—partially by turning him in. Khoury refuses to give the reader an easy position from which to judge Yalo—either as a poor soul or a serial rapist, criminal or victim of torture—or from which to judge Lebanon’s tragic and violent fate. His novel is a dense and stunning work of art.

Adama by Turki al-Hamad

On Monday, December 15th we meet for a discussion of Adama by Turki al-Hamad.

Turki al Hamad’s Adama is a coming-of-age tale whose central character, a young man from Saudi Arabia and budding philosopher, finds himself caught up in the struggle for change, devoting more and more of his time to a shadowy group of dissenters, even as he questions both their motives and methods. The result is an intense showdown between his love for his family, his firmly held beliefs and his yearning for social justice. Adama is the first in a trilogy.

For more information and reviews of the book, see below.

Remembering Mahmoud Darwish

As a special memorial to Mahmoud Darwish, the ‘Palestinian National Poet’ who passed away in August 2008, the October 6^th gathering of Kutub focused on this iconic poet’s life and works.  Unlike previous Kutub gatherings, where we have focused on one novel, for this special Kutub we reflected on a variety of Darwish’s poetry and prose and discussing the impact of his life as well as his works.

Further information about this special Kutub – including themes discussed, selections of Darwish’s poetry, interviews and links to recordings of him reciting his works – can be found below.