Off to War—A Marriage on the Brink
Antony Loewenstein reviews the latest book from veteran war reporter Anjan Sundaram, whose work may have cost him his marriage.
Book Reviews
Literature Takes Courage: on Ahmet Altan’s Lady Life
In and out of Turkish prisons for his unflinching political essays, Ahmet Altan returns with a new novella in English.
Ghassan Zeineddine Reflects On, Transcends the Identity Zeitgeist
Youssef Rakha is more interested in what it means to be a contemporary Arab-Muslim independently of the West than an American Arab.
The Failure of Postcolonial Modernity in Siddhartha Deb’s Light
Anis Shivani finds that Siddhartha Deb's "outright denial of human agency sets him apart from even the most dire modernists."
Why Isn’t Ghaith Abdul-Ahad a Household Name?
Iason Athanasiadis reviews the Iraqi correspondent's new memoir on Middle East wars and asks questions.
Freedom and Dislocation in Jamal Mahjoub’s Novel, The Fugitives
David Rife reviews the latest fiction from the Sudanese British author of more than a dozen literary and noir novels.
Deniz Goran’s New Novel Contrasts Art and the Gezi Park Protests
A novel about "toxic authoritarianism" and how it has shaped the lives of countless young persons in Turkey, sometimes through exile.
Youssef Rakha Practices Literary Deception in Emissaries
Zein El-Amine reviews the first collection of "original, irreverent" short stories written in English by Egyptian writer Youssef Rahka.
Niki, Prize-Winning Greek Novel, Captures the Country’s Civil War
Nektaria Anastasiadou reviews the newly-translated novel from Christos Chomenidis, which won the Greek National Book Award.
Wounded Tigris: A River Journey Through the Cradle of Civilisation
Nazli Tarzi reviews an adventure travel and climate change story of what humanity stands to lose with the death of a great river.
The Yellow Birds Author Returns With Iraq War/Noir Mystery
Hamilton Cain reviews a police procedural that connects Norfolk, Virginia with the late Iraq War and the streets of Mosul.
How Bethlehem Evolved From Jerusalem’s Sleepy Backwater to a Global Town
Bethlehem native and novelist Karim Kattan reviews the new book by Jacob Norris that tells the 19th century story of the town's evolution.
Radius Recounts a History of Sexual Assault in Tahrir Square
Sally AlHaq reviews the recent book by Yasmin El-Rifae on the history of sexual assault in Tahrir Square and what one group did to fight it.
A Debut Novel, Between Two Moons, is set in “Arabland” Brooklyn
Novelist R.P. Finch reviews the debut novel of Aisha Abdel Gawad, set in the "Arabland" of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
Where Are Yesterday’s Dhufar Revolutionaries Today?
Speaking of Arab revolutions, Tugrul Mende reviews a new book from Stanford looking back at revolutionaries of Dhufar, south Oman.