Reviews

War and the Absurd in Zein El-Amine’s Watermelon Stories

War and the Absurd in Zein El-Amine’s Watermelon Stories

Rana Asfour reviews a collection of stories from writer and educator Zein El-Amine, who was born and raised...

20 MARCH 2023 • By Rana Asfour
To Receive Asylum, You First Have to be Believed, and Accepted

To Receive Asylum, You First Have to be Believed, and Accepted

Mischa Geracoulis reviews the new book from Dina Nayeri on refugees and asylum seekers who must be believed...

5 MARCH 2023 • By Mischa Geracoulis
After Nine Years in Detention, an Iraqi is Finally Granted Asylum

After Nine Years in Detention, an Iraqi is Finally Granted Asylum

Rana Asfour reviews the third novel from Dutch Iraqi writer Rodaan Al Galidi.

22 AUGUST 2022 • By Rana Asfour
Leaving One’s Country in Mai Al-Nakib’s “An Unlasting Home”

Leaving One’s Country in Mai Al-Nakib’s “An Unlasting Home”

Rana Asfour reviews Mai Al-Nakib's debut novel, in which the protagonist always thought she would leave her country.

27 JUNE 2022 • By Rana Asfour
Siena and Her Art Soothe a Writer’s Grieving Soul

Siena and Her Art Soothe a Writer’s Grieving Soul

Rana Asfour reviews Libyan-American author Hisham Matar's memoir of his time in Siena, Italy.

25 APRIL 2022 • By Rana Asfour
Joumana Haddad’s The Book of Queens: a Review

Joumana Haddad’s The Book of Queens: a Review

Laila Halaby on the new novel from Lebanon's multilingual feminist poet and powerhouse.

18 APRIL 2022 • By Laila Halaby
A Miscarriage of Justice in the Case of Mahmood Hussain Mattan

A Miscarriage of Justice in the Case of Mahmood Hussain Mattan

Rana Asfour reviews the Booker Prize-nominated novel by Nadifa Mohamed based on the true story of a wrongly-convicted...

7 MARCH 2022 • By Rana Asfour
Meditations on The Ungrateful Refugee

Meditations on The Ungrateful Refugee

Rana Asfour shares her thoughts on the widely-celebrated book from Dina Nayeri, who writes that escaping and becoming...

15 JANUARY 2022 • By Rana Asfour
Temptations of the Imagination: how Jana Elhassan and Samar Yazbek transmogrify the world

Temptations of the Imagination: how Jana Elhassan and Samar Yazbek transmogrify the world

Rana Asfour provides an intimate look at two new Arab novels in translation, from Lebanese and Syrian authors.

10 JANUARY 2022 • By Rana Asfour
From Jerusalem to a Kingdom by the Sea

From Jerusalem to a Kingdom by the Sea

Rana Asfour reviews a new memoir about the legendary Dajani family, charged by a Turkish sultan with watching...

29 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Rana Asfour
Three Banned Saudi Novels Everyone Should Read

Three Banned Saudi Novels Everyone Should Read

Despite its repressive regimes, Saudi Arabia has produced a number of world-class novelists — several of whom have...

22 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Rana Asfour
Diary of the Collapse—Charif Majdalani on Lebanon’s Trials by Fire

Diary of the Collapse—Charif Majdalani on Lebanon’s Trials by Fire

A.J. Naddaff reviews the latest work of creative nonfiction by Lebanon's Charif Majdalani, as his nation teeters on...

15 NOVEMBER 2021 • By A.J. Naddaff
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