Fadi Zaghmout’s banned-in-Jordan “Laila”: a TMR Valentine
In this excerpt of the banned Jordanian novel "Laila," introduced by Rana Asfour and translated by Hajer Almosleh, readers get a sense of Fadi Zaghmout's prose and purpose.
Fiction
Fiction from “Free Fall”: I fled the city as a murderer whose crime had just been uncovered
TMR presents an exclusive excerpt from Abeer Esber's fourth novel, translated here by Nouha Homad, about a Damascene woman on the run, hiding out in Dubai.
Fiction: Refugees in Serbia, an excerpt from “Silence is a Sense” by Layla AlAmmar
On the occasion of the paperback publication of Layla AlAmmar's novel Silence is a Sense, TMR presents this excerpt selected by the author.
“Turkish Delights”—fiction from Omar Foda
Omar Foda draws on family lore and field work to weave together a satirical tale of ego and power in 1920s Egypt.
Three Levantine Tales
Writer, translator and artist Nouha Hamad tells three tales passed down as family legend connecting the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Promotion (a short story from Saudi Arabia)
What happens when an immigrant professor dresses to impress in a bid to land tenure at a Saudi university? A short story by Waqar Ahmed paints a humorous picture.
“The Settlement”—a story by Tariq Mehmood
From Tariq Mehmood comes an allegorical story with the strange beauty and simplicity of a tale by Ghassan Kanafani or J.M. Coetzee.
Omar El Akkad on his second novel “What Strange Paradise”
Rana Asfour, Book Editor at The Markaz Review, and the TMR Bookgroup talk to author Omar El Akkad about his second novel What Strange Paradise.
“The Passion of Evangelina”—fiction from Anthoney Dimos
Protests, jails and death characterize this short story set in Athen's Syntagma Square, the site of many 20th-century dramas.
Flagbearer of a Stateless Nation, from “Daughters of Smoke and Fire”
The following is excerpted from Chapter 14 in Ava Homa’s Daughters of Smoke and Fire and appears in TMR by gracious arrangement with the author. Ava Homa When his… Continue reading Flagbearer of a Stateless Nation, from “Daughters of Smoke and Fire”
“Tattoos,” an excerpt from Karima Ahdad’s Amazigh-Moroccan novel “Cactus Girls”
In this excerpt from the Amazigh-Moroccan novel "Cactus Girls" by Karima Ahdad, a fierce small-town girl from the Rif named Sonya remembers what it was like growing up under the spell of heroic women. Like the cactus of the title, Ahdad’s women are survivors in a barren landscape, one filled…
“The Location of the Soul According to Benyamin Alhadeff”—a story by Nektaria Anastasiadou
Nektaria Anastasiadou weaves a rich tale of thwarted love between Sephardic and Rum residents of Istanbul.
Gazan Skies, from the novel “Out of It”
There are times when you can think of little else but escaping your present reality, as Rashid does in this excerpt from Selma Dabbagh's novel on Gaza.
“Pakistani Bureaucrats & The Booze Permit”—a story by Tariq Mehmood
Novelist and filmmaker Tariq Mehmood weaves a tale of wasta, women and booze in Rawalpindi.
A Home Across the Azure Sea
We accompany a family fleeing civil war for safe harbor, in a short story by Aida Y. Haddad.