Four Books to Revolutionize Your Thinking
TMR's managing editor, Rana Asfour, offers four books to challenge the world as we know it.
Books
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.
Love Across Borders—on Romance, Restrictions and Happy Endings
Lina Mounzer reviews the new book by Anna Lekas Miller that gathers stories of love- and border-challenged couples.
Illuminated Reading for 2024: Our Anticipated Titles
Four editors at The Markaz Review share some of their most anticipated titles publishing in 2024.
War Weariness & Absurdity in Jamaluddin Aram’s Debut Novel
Something beyond war-weariness informs Jamaluddin Aram’s depiction of 1990s Afghanistan in his debut novel, writes Rudi Heinrich.
An Iranian Novelist Seeks the Truth About a Plane Crash
Novelist Négar Djavadi deploys non-fiction to question Iran's downing of an international flight out of Tehran.
The Rebels of Football, Then and Now
Justin Salhani argues that the "beautiful game" has been a powerful instrument of emancipation for workers, feminists and anti-colonialist activists around the world.
Inside Hamas: From Resistance to Regime
An exclusive excerpt from the 2023 title "Hamas: From Resistance to Regime" by Paola Caridi, translated by Andrea Teti.
Assassination in Malta: How They Killed My Mother
Teodor Reljić reviews Paul Caruana Galizia's book in which he dissects the Maltese status quo that led to his journalist mother’s murder.
Tone—Literary Criticism to Challenge the Mind
Sofia Samatar and Kate Zambreno indulge in a collective reading and writing practice to capture literary tone, writes Safa Khatib.
Huda Fakhreddine’s A Brief Time Under a Different Sun
Exclusive excerpt from Huda Fahreddine's "A Brief Time Under a Different Sun," translated from the Arabic by Rana Asfour.