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Each year, Al-Fanar Media compiles a list of recent important books published in the Arab world or those which deal with its conditions. This list includes personal favorites and books written on Al-Fanar Media, as well as those that have sparked debate throughout the year. The list is intended to give an idea of the breadth and diversity of literary and scientific writing in the region, but it is by no means exhaustive. Comments and suggestions from readers are welcome.
Art and architecture
A History of Arab Graphic Design, Bahia Shihab and Haitham Nawar (American University in Cairo Press). This book offers a very important graphic overview for several generations of Arab graphic designers working in Arab countries as well as in the diaspora and exile. The book represents a history of Arab graphic design from the origins of print until the 21st century, forming a conversation between the work of graphic designers in the region.
History and Notes
Archival Wars: The Politics of History in Saudi Arabia, Rosie Bashir (Stanford University Press). This perfectly written academic book represents a sea change in the way we see the history of Saudi Arabia by examining how the archives were formed, what was written and what was erased in the process. Bashir wrote in the introduction to his book: “Erasure is not just a countermeasure to the process of writing history: it is history itself.”
Harz Muhammed (Distortion of Evidence: Reading and Writing Journal in Prison), Ahmad Naji (Dar Safsafa, in Arabic). In 2016, Egyptian novelist Ahmed Nagy was sentenced to two years in prison for “violating public morals” when an extract from his novel “The Use of Life” was published in a magazine. In his new diary, Nagy writes about his time in prison, when he was banned from writing and his reading was strictly censored. Nagy writes about this time with passion and depth without letting go of his sense of humor. An excerpt translated into English is available in Michigan Magazine Fall 2020 Quarterly Review.
Transforming Silence, Itel Adnan (published by Nightboat Books). This meditation on old age, life, sadness, learning and closing raises eyebrows on each of its pages. The 95-year-old Lebanese writer and illustrator travels between Syria, California, Greece and Mars, delving into every detail of her life. She writes: “I tell you: we have been carried by tornadoes we barely noticed, whirlpools we barely feel, and attacks we barely admit because we are almost awake. Things are translating into something strange.
The passenger room, Izzat El Qamhawy (The Egyptian Lebanese House, in Arabic). Longlisted for this year’s Sheikh Zayed Book Award, Al Qamhawi is a fictional travel work, perfect work for reading during the ban associated with the COVID-19 outbreak, and takes us through the author’s travel experience and his thoughts on travel literature.
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The Sleep Book, Haitham Al-Wardani (Dar Siegel, translated into English by Robin Mugir). What is sleep? As is the case in his wonderful book “How to Disappear”, Al-Wardani oscillates in his book on sleep between philosophy, fable, poetry, political analysis and history to give us an image of Egypt in the spring of 2013 and of the state of existence we call “a little bit of death.” Another recommended suggestion for 2020 is What Can’t Be Fixed by Al-Wardani, (published in Arabic by Dar Al-Karma), a collection of short stories that explore questions about animal life, language, and strength. .
In the footsteps of Inayat Al-Zayat, Iman Mersal (Dar Al-Kotob Khan, in Arabic). Although this book was released in November 2019, it’s worth mentioning again, lest anyone miss it. This glimpse into the life of Egyptian writer Inayat al-Zayat, who committed suicide in 1963, sheds light on the writing challenges faced by a woman living in Egypt in the mid-20th century. Combining an investigative story, an autobiography and a journal, the work should make any sensitive reader cry.
Novels and short stories
The Frightened, Dima Wannus (Penguin Random Publishing, English translation by Elizabeth Jacket). This fascinating and terrifying novel delves deep into the nature of fear, echoing the echo of two women from contemporary Syria trying to preserve their adherence to history and reality. This novel articulates a bizarre and insightful take on love, anxiety, and family, and Jaget translates it beautifully.
A minor detail, Adania Shibli (New Directions, translated by Jacket). Another excellent translation of Jackets is, in which the work tells two stories in alternating lines: in the summer of 1949 and in the present, each forming the tail of the other in a short painful novel.
Bab al-Saha, Sahar Khalifeh (Dar Siegel, translated by Sawad Hussain). Finally, this 20th century classic has been translated into English. The novel is set during the early days of the first Palestinian Intifada (1987-1993) and is a fast-paced, theatrical, and fun novel. Like many of Khalifa’s novels, the work introduces us to history through the eyes of “important men” and ordinary women.
The Truth Comes Out of the Mouth of the Horse, Maryam Al-Alawi (Azar Press, translated by Emma Ramadan). This intelligent and dynamic Moroccan novel was published in French in 2018 and published this year with the translation of the vibrant Emma Ramadan in English. The novel follows the life of Jamaa, a 34-year-old sex worker, on an unlikely journey without losing her place in normal life.
Classical works in new translations
Al-Maqamat, Al-Hariri (Library of Arabic Literature, translated by Michael Cooperson). Al-Hariri (1054-1122) is a poet and scholar who lived in Basra, Iraq, and was known for the wonderful pun in his maqams (a literary genre in which poetry alternates with prose). In this new translation, Couperson doesn’t try to focus on academic rigor, as much as he tries to answer the pun in what feels like a duel in English and Arabic.
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