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      • January 2014

        Graphite

        Long List Arabic Booker prize 2015

        by Hisham Al Kheshen

        Set in the early 20th century Graphite is a novel pertaining to the opposites. Between the inauguration of the infamous Muslim Brotherhood clan & the liberal movements emerging in Egypt at the time the characters undergo a struggle as envisaged through the heroine Nawal Aref. Nawal is not only the envoy to the Sorbonne in Paris for completion of her university studies but also the companion of Dorreya Shafiq the icon of women’s liberation & rights in Egypt at the time. In the background are characters that truly reflect the melting pot the then young Egypt was; with a mixture of population encompassing Egyptians, Jews, Armenians & Greeks. Through the personal struggle & strife of Nawal on a background of real & well studied historical events the novel goes on to portray life in that era particularly where it comes to domestic & social oppression of women and their subsequent demands. This is relayed over the period the novel takes place starting in 1928 through 1951. Graphite was nominated for the long list of the Arab Booker Award as well as being extremely well received by noted critics among whom are Dr. Salah Fadl & Mr. Alaa Al Deeb.

      • August 2020

        Leila Means Night

        by Aleksandra Lipczak

        For eight centuries, southern Spain has been home to a multicultural political entity founded by the Arabs and co-created by Muslims, Jews and Christians. Medieval Cordoba, Seville and Toledo are bustling metropolises to which merchants, scientists and artists are drawn from all over the world. Here the first tracheotomy procedure is performed and astronomy is developed, here magnificent libraries are created, Greek philosophers are translated, multilingual poetry is written, and foreign policy at the Muslim court is directed by a Jewish diplomat.In a book stretched between history and modernity and between essay and reportage, the author deconstructs popular symbols of Spain (flamenco, mosaics, palm trees), revealing their Muslim-Arab roots. She shows how Andalusia today handles its heritage. Coexistence, the meeting of the so-called West with so-called Islam, the fluidity of borders, but also fundamentalisms, expulsions, exorcising others.... Al-Andalus is a palimpsest that is useful in thinking about the world today. Prizes: Nike Literary Prize 2021 - shortlist Witold Gombrowicz Prize 2021 - winner

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