Why Summer Fiction? For the Wonders & Miracles
Our literary editor takes us on a deluxe reader's tour of the stories behind the stories in the double summer fiction issue for 2024.
Category: TMR 43 • Summer Fiction ’24
Deena Mohamed
Featured artist Deena Mohamed is an accomplished Egyptian graphic novelist and author of the fantasy trilogy "Shubeik Lubeik" [Your Wish Is My Command].
Dune in 2024: A World Beyond Saving
The meta-narrative in Frank Herbert's Dune trilogy foresees the modern disaster of never-ending colonialism and a planet destroyed by oil.
The Top 12 Books to Read This Summer
Travel through the center of the world this summer from the comfort of your couch when you pick up any of these wonderful books.
“The Social Media Kids”—a short story by Qais Akbar Omar
In Qais Akbar Omar’s short story, a surprise homecoming threatens to upend the lives of a 14-year-old and her independent mother in Kabul.
Flaubert’s Poison Pen
Flaubert's theory of meaning and form rests on a mystical conception of the nature of writing, alongside the theory of music in writing.
“An Inherited Offense”—a Levantine story on the island of Leros
In this short story by Nektaria Anastasiadou, the male and female terebinth trees of a Levantine childhood help heal a fractured family.
The Mourning Diaries of Atash Shakarami
The diaries provide a complex double-layered narrative of Nika as a victim of regime brutality, and of Atrash as a survivor of state horror.
“A Blind Window on Childhood”—a short story by Hamoud Saud
Omani writer Hamoud Saud’s short story “A Blind Window on Childhood” translated from Arabic by Zia Ahmed, reveals a family's secret history.
“Ten-Armed Gods”—a short story by Odai Al Zoubi
In a stream of consciousness short story by Odai Al Zoubi, a minister under investigation in the Syrian government awaits his fate.
“The Lakshmi of Suburbia”—a story by Natasha Tynes
In Natasha Tynes’ new short story, “The Lakshmi of Suburbia,” an unhappy wife falls in love with herself and an internet influencer.
“Firefly”—a short story by Alireza Iranmehr
In this short story, an Iranian conscript keeps disappearing from duty. The natural world leaves clues of his whereabouts.