Aranib: Arab Writers in English

Promoting Arab Culture Abroad

Purchasing Books

This page is dedicated
to Arab writers
who choose the
English language for
their thoughts.
If you are one
of them, please
send us an
email. If you are not,
and have read a book that is
not included in this list,
please also get in
touch. A 3 to 5 line
review of the
book would be greatly
appreciated.

Gardens of the Night by Ahmed Fagih
(see author web site at: http://www.fagih.com/)

Amin Malouf
- Samarkand
- The Rock of Tanios (Winner of the 1993 Prix Goncourt)
  Set in Lebanon in the 1800s, The Rock of Tanios is a tale that explores the myth surrounding the life of Tanios. Maalouf combines history and fiction to deliver a charming and touching story of love and betrayal.
- The Gardens of Light
  Maalouf tells the (unusual) story of an ancient prophet, Mani, whose doctrine transcended religious divisions and encouraged tolerance and love. The struggles of Mani to spread his message at a time of war are recounted eloquently. The result is a tale that touches on love, grief, cruelty and wit.
- The Crusades Through Arab Eyes
  Malouf mixes history with personal reflections in this wonderful and concise book on the Arab view of the Crusades. The author provides a lucid comparison between the crusades and current political/social/economic environment in the Arab world.
Taha Hussein
- An Egyptian Childhood
Leila Aboulela
- The Translator (Nominated for the Orange book prize in 2000)
  A wonderful and simple first novel, beautifully written. A must read for people interested in cross-cultural marriages.
Ahmed Fagih
- Gardens of the Night
Ahdaf Soueif
- Aisha
  Ahdaf Soueif's first novel is entertaining, lively and charming. The relationships and experiences of characters that Aisha meets, growing up in Egypt and Britain, are interwoven to create a surprisingly sexy novel, full of wit, passion and grief.
- The Map of Love (Nominated for the Booker Prize in 1999)
  In this novel the landscape of Egypt is beautifully brought alive when an English lady not only falls in love with her colonial country, but learns so much of its people, she embraces its culture wholeheartedly, and struggles with its politics. Meanwhile we discover this intriguing liaison from a modern perspective, and the reader's subjective position regarding Egypt and its colonial past is more keenly challenged. Far more than just a love story, although its narrative is compelling, this is a thoughtful piece of post-colonial writing.
- In the Eye of the Sun
Naguib Mahfouz
- The Cairo Trilogy
- Harafish translated by Catherine Cobham
- Midaq Alley
Betool Khedairi
- A Sky So Close
Leila Ahmed
- A Border Passage
  In her provocative memoir, Leila Ahmed reflects on both her social and political experiences as she moves from Egypt to Cambridge, Abu Dhabi and the U.S. Through her contemplations on the cultural climate at each stage of her journey, she explores the issue of identity. Brought up during the Revolution in Egypt, Leila Ahmed reveals her perspectives on colonial and post-colonial Egypt and Arab nationalism. Since her views stem largely from her family's opposition to Nasser, her analysis, if brave, is highly controversial. As her journey moves out of Egypt, she skilfully captures her personal understanding of issues such as Islam, racism and feminism.
Zeina Ghandour
- The Honey
Jamal Mahjoub
Fadia Faqir
- Nisanit
- Pillars of Salt
- Arab Women Writers
Tayib Salih
- Seasons of Migration to the North (Translated by Denys Johnson-Davies)
- Bandarshah (Translated by Denys Johnson-Davies)
Fuad Ajamis
- The Dream Palace of the Arabs
Nawal Sadawi
- Memoirs of a Woman Doctor
- Woman at Point Zero
- The Fall of the Imam
- The Well of Life, and The Thread (Translated by Sherif Hetata)
- Two Women in One
Ghassan Kanafani
- Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories(Translated by Hilary Kilpatrick)
Ahlam Mustaghanmi
- The Memory of the Body
- The Chaos of the Senses
Nizar Qabbani
- On Entering the Sea: The Erotic and Other Poetry of Nizar Qubbani
- Arabian Love Poems : Full Arabic and English Texts
Khalil Gibran

Non-Fiction

Sadiq Al-Azm
- On-line resources
Leila Fawaz
- Merchants and Migrants in 19th C Beirut
- An Occasion for War - Civil Conflict in Lebanon and Damascus in 1860
Kamal Salibi
- The Modern History of Jordan
- The Bible Came from Arabia
- Secrets of the Bible People
- Who was Jesus? A Consipiracy in Jerusalem
Fatima Mernissi
- Beyond the Veil
- The Harem Within: Tales of a Moroccan Girlhood
- Dreams of Trespass : Tales of a Harem Girlhood
- Islam and Democracy : Fear of the Modern World
- The Veil and the Male Elite : A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam
- Doing Daily Battle
- The Forgotten Queens of Islam (Translated by Mary Jo Lakeland)
- Women's Rebellion and Islamic Memory (Translated by Emily Agar)
Nuha Al-Radi
- Baghdad Diaries
Nawal Sadawi
- God Dies by the Nile (Third World Literature)
- Memoirs from the Women's Prison(Translated by Marilyn Booth)
Salma Khadra Jayyusi
- The Literature of Modern Arabia: An Anthology
- An Anthology of Palestinian Writers
Dayzi Al-Amir
- The Waiting List : An Iraqi Woman's Tales of Alienation (Modern Middle East Literatures in Translation)
- The Distant Country that You Love
- Then the Wave Returns
- In the Vortex of Love and Hate
- Promises for Sale
Naim Attallah

Reviews Contributed by:
SF (UK), OFR (UK), H (UK)

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