“Keeping Up”—fiction from Mohamed Farag
The more things change, the more they become strange, or so finds the confused narrator of this Kafkaesque adventure in a developing country.
TMR 43 • Summer Fiction ’24
The Butcher’s Assistant—a true story set in Alexandria
While studying abroad in Alexandria, Bel Parker becomes a butcher's apprentice to immerse herself in the local language and culture.
“Certainty”—a short story by Nora Nagi
In this latest story by Nora Nagi, an Egyptian woman trapped in a loveless marriage far from home finds freedom.
“The Doll with the Purple Scarf”—flash fiction from Diaa Jubaili
Iraqi novelist Diaa Jubaili's short story, translated by Chip Rossetti, portrays dolls as unlikely victims of life under the Islamic State.
“We Danced”—a story by MK Harb
In exercises to “release your inner child,” meditation, or psychotherapy, Beirutis search for mental and physical relief, in MK Harb's latest short story.
“Madame Djouzi”—a story by Salah Badis
Salah Badis' short story follows an elderly Algerian woman contemplating the end of her life amidst the threat of earthquakes or having to sell her cherished furniture.
“Frida Kahlo’s Mustache”—flash fiction from Abdullah Nasser
In this flash fiction by Abdullah Nasser, a couple struggling to conceive undergoes a transformation that changes everything.
“Deferred Sorrow”—fiction from Haidar Al Ghazali
In Haidar Al Ghazali's short story, a Palestinian father during the war on Gaza makes an impossible choice.
“Besara”—an excerpt from Things Are Not in Their Place
An excerpt from Omani writer Huda Hamed’s bittersweet coming-of-age novel about race and self in a new English translation by Zia Ahmed.
Ripped from Memoirs of a Lebanese Policeman
True reflections of a former officer of the law in Lebanon from his hit memoir, translated by Lina Mounzer.
Plenty of Marjanes & Leilas: Collective Strategies of the Women’s Protest in Iran
Marjane Satrapi's edited anthology "Woman, Life, Freedom" shows that the story of the movement cannot be told with only one voice.