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.
Book Reviews
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.
My Brother, My Land: A Story from Palestine
Saleem Haddad reviews the Sawalha family story that offers hope in resilience, resistance, and survival against all odds.
Forgotten & Silenced Histories in Moroccan Other-Archives
Language, gender, class, race, and geography shape citizenship in Morocco today, argues Brahim El Guabli in his latest book.
Palestinian Culture, Under Assault, Celebrated in New Cookbook
Fadi Kattan's Palestinian cookbook is a memoir of personal and familial memories, intriguing facts, and emotions, writes Mischa Geracoulis.
Man Is a Cause: Wisam Rafeedie & the Palestinian Revolutionary Novel
A classic prison novel by Wisam Rafeedie recounts the revolutionary fervor of Palestinian political prisoners.
Feurat Alani: Paris, Fallujah and Recovered Memory
Feurat Alani, a French novelist of Iraqi descent, succeeds in capturing the connections between two disparate cultural spheres.
Fady Joudah’s […] Dares Us to Listen to Palestinian Words—and Silences
Eman Quotah on Fady Joudah's latest, in which the poet takes on the inadequacy of language in conveying the pain and hope of Palestinians today.
How Fragile We Are: Hisham Matar’s My Friends
Adib Rahhal reviews Hisham Matar's latest novel, in which the precariousness of existence and Libya serve as springboards.
The Myth of the West: A Discontinuous History
Arie Amaya-Akkermans reviews "The West: a new history of an old idea" that argues how the West was invented to justify imperialism.
Do or Despair: Political Action in My Great Arab Melancholy
Katie Logan reviews Lamia Ziadé's latest illustrated volume that prompts a reckoning with the concept of melancholy.
Eyeliner: A Cultural History by Zahra Hankir—A Review
Nazli Tarzi reviews a book that challenges the uncritical view of eyeliner as a mere “exercise in vanity” and probes its use across many societies.
Rotten Evidence: Ahmed Naji Writes About Writing in Prison
In tone, "Rotten Evidence" is cynical, bitterly funny, and oftentimes tender without ever being sentimental, writes Lina Mounzer.
Arthur Kayzakian’s Stolen Painting and The Nameless Father
Sean Casey on a rather unusual and remarkable debut from Arthur Kayzakian that melds poetry, prose and correspondence.