Literary Atlas of Cairo, The
29 January '14
Bringing together writings by Egyptians, Arabs, men and women, Muslims, Copts, and Jews, this rich selection maps out many of the changes in Cairo’s geopolitics and its urban fabric, while tracing spatial and social forms of polarization and new patterns of inclusion and exclusion within the expanding megacity. Through its thematic organization, The Literary Atlas […]
Stone Woman, The
29 January '14
The Ottoman Empire, known as the “sick man of Europe” in the 19th century, continues its slow, steady decline in the summer of 1899 as elderly Iskander Pasha (a descendant of a sultan’s favorite courtier) and his well-born family gather at their seaside palace outside Istanbul. Ali, a well-known leftist activist in Britain, explores the […]
Game of Forgetting, The
29 January '14
Sultan in Palermo, A
29 January '14
The fourth novel in Tariq Ali’s ‘Islam Quintet’ charts the life and loves of the medieval cartographer Muhammed al-Idrisi. Torn between his close friendship with the sultan and his friends who are leaving the island or plotting a resistance to Norman rule, Idrisi finds temporary solace in the harem; but his conscience is troubled…
This Part of the World
29 January '14
Premier Caseres rules his country with a ruthlessness that puts him in the elite category of Truijillo, Mugabe, and Kim Jong II. A potent orator with a martinet style of leadership, Caseres’ ability to instill fear and reverence in his people has secured his place in power. However, the dictator’s human frailties run as deep […]
Cairo House, The
29 January '14
A beguiling, entrancing novel that tells the story of a prominent Egyptian family’s struggle to survive the turmoil of post-World War II Cairo.Gigi grew up in a wonderful house in Cairo, a house that was home to a large, extended family. The men of the house were involved in politics and business, cotton and trading, […]
Map of Love, The
29 January '14
Ahdaf Soueif’s The Map of Love is a massive family saga, a story that draws its readers into two moments in the complex, troubled history of modern Egypt. The story begins in 1977 in New York. There Isabel Parkman discovers an old trunk full of documents–some in English, some in Arabic–in her dying mother’s apartment. […]
Houses Behind the Trees
29 January '14