Books
Putting together pieces of Egypt’s militarized past
March 31, 2013
Putting together pieces of Egypt’s militarized past
One might not agree with Hazem Kandil’s “Soldiers, Spies and Statesmen: Egypt’s Road to Revolt” that the competing roles of…
Iraqi writer Hassan Blasim has too many stories to tell
March 24, 2013
Iraqi writer Hassan Blasim has too many stories to tell
In Hassan Blasim’s “The Song of the Goats,” hundreds of Iraqis “were waiting in queues to tell their stories. The…
Chinua Achebe, grandfather of African literature, dies at 82
March 22, 2013
Chinua Achebe, grandfather of African literature, dies at 82
Nigerian novelist and poet Chinua Achebe, widely seen as a grandfather of modern African literature, has died at the age…
Artists and writers search for a common street in Iraq
March 19, 2013
Artists and writers search for a common street in Iraq
Baghdad’s Al-Mutanabbi Street is perhaps the longest-lived book-selling neighborhood in the world. According to scholar Muhsin al-Musawi, the current bookshops…
‘Arabian Nights’ has a smaller sibling
February 28, 2013
‘Arabian Nights’ has a smaller sibling
Almost every reader on the planet is familiar in some way with the epic “1,001 Nights.” We know of Sultan…
The pick: ‘The Devil Rules’ urges readers to think critically
February 25, 2013
The pick: ‘The Devil Rules’ urges readers to think critically
Mostafa Mahmoud’s 2004 “The Devil Rules” is a book about hippies, rising drug abuse and Western supremacy over the Arab…
Prominent fiction writer Mahmoud Salem dies at 84
February 24, 2013
Prominent fiction writer Mahmoud Salem dies at 84
Prominent mystery fiction writer Mahmoud Salem died Sunday at the age of 84, after a life full of adventure, both…
Navigating the space between American readers and Iraqi writers
February 24, 2013
Navigating the space between American readers and Iraqi writers
The book about Iraq most well-known to English readers is perhaps Chris Kyle’s best-selling “American Sniper,” a memoir told from…
The pick: Vast knowledge from a rubbish heap, and other surprises
February 22, 2013
The pick: Vast knowledge from a rubbish heap, and other surprises
Indian author Amitav Ghosh wrote “In an Antique Land” in 1992. It has two parallel narratives, one about his stay…
Mark Linz, a ‘champion of Egyptian and Arab authors’
February 19, 2013
Mark Linz, a ‘champion of Egyptian and Arab authors’
In the early morning hours of Saturday 9 February, the publishing world lost one of its great literary champions.