Book Reviews

Reading The Orchards of Basra

Reading The Orchards of Basra

The Orchards of Basra weaves together elements of dreams, memory, and forgotten philosophy, insisting that some stories cannot...

SEPTEMBER 12, 2025 • By Jacob Wirtschafter
10 Books for OUT OF OUR MINDS

10 Books for OUT OF OUR MINDS

A curated collection of fiction and non-fiction exploring the ways political and social unrest impacts mental health in...

SEPTEMBER 5, 2025 • By Rana Asfour
Palestinian Cartographies—a review of Mapping My Return

Palestinian Cartographies—a review of Mapping My Return

Maps are narratives of the past, present, and future, powerful chronicles of presence and absence, ownership and theft,...

AUGUST 29, 2025 • By Mai Al-Nakib
Egyptian Novelist Skewers British Bureaucracy with Black Humor

Egyptian Novelist Skewers British Bureaucracy with Black Humor

Shady Lewis' new novel skewers British bureaucracy while exploring the immigrant experience with black humor and surreal situations.

AUGUST 15, 2025 • By Valeria Berghinz
Without Women, the 2011 Revolution Might Have Never Been

Without Women, the 2011 Revolution Might Have Never Been

The long history of Egyptian women's activism created the intellectual and political background for revolution.

AUGUST 8, 2025 • By Jasmin Attia
Brutally Honest Exploration of Taboo Subjects in Empty Cages

Brutally Honest Exploration of Taboo Subjects in Empty Cages

A novel that explores taboo subjects with exceptional craftsmanship, while reconstructing the “self” from pain and fragmented identities.

AUGUST 8, 2025 • By Ahmed Naji
Hope Without Hope: Rojava and Revolutionary Commitment

Hope Without Hope: Rojava and Revolutionary Commitment

Matt Broomfield's new book explores the history of the Rojava revolution in Syrian Kurdistan as a model for...

JULY 11, 2025 • By Arie Amaya-Akkermans
Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah—a Review

Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah—a Review

Gurnah's new novel, "Theft," is a post-colonial exploration of Tanzania, immigration, and the relationship between Africa and the...

JULY 9, 2025 • By Philip Grant
Memoricide Voided by Four Palestinian Women Diarists

Memoricide Voided by Four Palestinian Women Diarists

"Voices of Resistance" stands as a vital work of testimonial literature that refuses to be forgotten, writes Francesca...

JULY 4, 2025 • By Francesca Vawdrey
Palestine’s Places and Memorials Are Not Forgotten

Palestine’s Places and Memorials Are Not Forgotten

A profound meditation on the Palestinian landscape, on loss, neglect and the ravages of time, by Raja Shehadeh...

JULY 4, 2025 • By Gabriel Polley
The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa—a Review

The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa—a Review

A tale set in the near-future exploring the world of banned books, repressed imaginations, dreams, and desires.

JULY 4, 2025 • By Rana Asfour
In Nasser Rabah’s Poetry, تقول القصيدة كلمتها

In Nasser Rabah’s Poetry, تقول القصيدة كلمتها

Nasser Rabah and other poets of Gaza are still writing — still sending their poems to us, because...

JULY 4, 2025 • By Eman Quotah
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