Top 10 Books to Read this Fall
Editors recommend their top ten titles to read this season, from novels set in Egypt, Zanzibar, Oman and Palestine to Afghan and Syrian nonfiction.
Book Reviews
Egypt’s Gatekeeper—President or Despot?
Maged Mandour’s new book examines El-Sisi's exercise and abuse of power in post-revolutionary Egypt.
Birth in a Poem: Maram Al-Masri’s The Abduction
When a mother loses her child she can become inconsolable, living a desolate life, as she works for his return.
Woe to the Conquered: Selim Temo’s Nightlands
Kurdish poetry abounds but rarely appears in English. Jordan Elgrably reviews a bilingual English-Kurdish edition of Selim Temo's "Nightlands."
Wandering and Endless Sorrow: Farhad Pirbal’s The Potato Eaters
Cory Oldweiler reviews the debut story collection by Farhad Pirbal, one of Kurdistan's iconic writers, now out from Deep Vellum.
All That Rage: On Comma Press’ Egypt +100
Alex Tan reviews a sci-fi anthology set in Egypt where all the writers aim to uplift the country from its post-revolutionary gloom.
Nabil Kanso: Lebanon and the Split of Life—a Review
Sophie Kazan reviews a new book on the late Nabil Kanso, the Lebanese pacifist artist whose work depicted the horrors of war.
Israel’s Black Panthers by Asaf Elia-Shalev—a Review
In the 1970s Israel's Black Panthers rocked the establishment and brought the rampant discrimation against Arab Jews to light.
Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew by Avi Shlaim—a Review
Selma Dabbagh reviews Avi Shlaim's memoir about his coming-of-age as an Iraqi Jew, living as a minority in Israel and then in England.
Plenty of Marjanes & Leilas: Collective Strategies of the Women’s Protest in Iran
Marjane Satrapi's edited anthology "Woman, Life, Freedom" shows that the story of the movement cannot be told with only one voice.
Upheavals of Beauty and Oppression in The Oud Player of Cairo
Jasmin Attia's novel vividly portrays Egypt and Cairo by beautifully conjuring music and sound through descriptive prose.
Life Along Istanbul’s Byzantine Walls, a Review
Arie Amaya-Akkermans on a book that reviews not only Turkey’s social and political deterioration over the last decade, but also the violence of the past, both recent and distant.
The Battle for Climate Justice vs. Environmental Orientalism
Little-reported green colonialism is occurring in the sun-rich but water-deprived MENA region, writes Richard Lim in this review.
Is Amin Maalouf’s Latest Novel, On the Isle of Antioch, a Parody?
Farah-Silvana Kanan questions whether, in this novel, the Franco-Lebanese master is at the height of his powers, or is having us on...
This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud —A Review
An entire family is preoccupied with its history and questions of national identity, confounded by France’s rejection of the pieds-noirs.