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Best Midยญdle Eastยญern BooksReadยญing is one of lifeโs true pleaยญsures, and the Midยญdle East is one of the most fasยญciยญnatยญing regions in the world.This fabled land has proยญduced some outยญstandยญing authors with a gift for lanยญguage and a wealth of stoยญries from which to draw inspiยญraยญtion. While there are so many great books to enjoy, here weโve comยญpiled a list of 15, which will reward anyยญone who loves a good book.Betยญter still, if you find yourยญself with more time at home right now, delve into a great stoยญry and lose yourยญself in a fasยญciยญnatยญing adventure.The folยญlowยญing list comยญprisยญes authors from many counยญtries across the Midยญdle East who have conยญstructยญed tales from varยญiยญous genres.
The Museum of Innocence โ Orhan Pamuk
Orhan Pamuk is one of Turkeyโs most famous writยญers and is well known for novยญels such as โSnowโ and โMy Name is Red.โ The Museยญum of Innoยญcence is anothยญer worยญthy title from the winยญner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.Once youโve finยญished readยญing this book, you can visยญit the museยญum of innoยญcence. Yes, thatโs right, Pamuk has creยญatยญed a museยญum conยญtainยญing many of the items described in the novยญel โ truยญly bringยญing words to life.Order The Museยญum of Innoยญcence On AmazonThe stoยญry itself folยญlows Kemal, a young man who falls in love with a shopยญgirl. What may sound like a beauยญtiยญful stoยญry of love is filled with despair and sadยญness because Kemal meets the girl while heโs engaged to be marยญried. The โmuseยญumโ refers to Kemalโs obsesยญsion with colยญlectยญing any item that reminds him of the time he spent with the shop girl.
Secret Son โ Laila Lalami
Youssef Al Makยญki lives in a one-room house with his mothยญer and yearns for a life in the film to escape the strugยญgles of his daiยญly life.He expeยญriยญences an upheaval, howยญevยญer, when the father he thought was dead, he sudยญdenยญly reapยญpears. Not only is Youssefโs father alive, but he is a rich and powยญerยญful busiยญnessยญman. Now Youssef has every comยญfort he could have wished for and should be happy.Order Secret Son On AmazonIn realยญiยญty, though, he strugยญgles with the choice between a life of luxยญuยญry and a simยญple life of freeยญdom and relยญaยญtive indeยญpenยญdence. This stoยญry takes us on Youssefโs quest for idenยญtiยญty in a changยญing and unpreยญdictable world.
The Moorโs Account โ Laila Lalami
The Morocยญcan-Amerยญiยญcan novยญelยญist offers anothยญer worยญthy text with The Moorโs Account, a reimagยญinยญing of the disยญcovยญery and exploยญration of the conยญtiยญnent of America.In this hisยญtorยญiยญcal ficยญtion, we are preยญsentยญed with the imagยญiยญnary memยญoir of Mustafa al-Zamori, a Morocยญcan slave who becomes the first black explorยญer of America.Order The Moorโs Account On AmazonAskยญing โwhat if?โ Lalaยญmi allows us to ponยญder the posยญsiยญbilยญiยญty of anothยญer voice and anothยญer figยญure in the โdisยญcovยญeryโ of new land, and the Pulitzer Prize finalยญist does so with flair, imagยญiยญnaยญtion and skill, creยญatยญing a novยญel which not only proยญvokes quesยญtions about the past but enterยญtains as well.
The Bastard of Istanbul โ Elif Shafak
The Basยญtard of Istanยญbul is a stoยญry of strong female charยญacยญters, a jourยญney into hisยญtoยญry and a trove of famยญiยญly secrets. It cenยญters around a clairยญvoyยญant and mysยญteยญriยญous famยญiยญly curse and draws upon the culยญturยญal milieu of Istanbul.Nineยญteen-year-old Asya is the proยญtagยญoยญnist who is tryยญing to creยญate her place in the world while surยญroundยญed by a house of sufยญfoยญcatยญing women.Order The Basยญtard of Istanยญbul On AmazonThe stoยญry ignites when anothยญer young woman, Armanoush, arrives at her famยญiยญly home. Togethยญer, rebelยญlious Asya and Armanoush set off a series of events that take the readยญer on a fasยญciยญnatยญing journey.
The Forty Rules of Love: A Novel of Rumi โ Elif Shafak
Elif Shafak presents us with anothยญer capยญtiยญvatยญing stoยญry in The Forty Rules of Love: A Novยญel of Rumi. Ella Rubenยญstein has reached midยญdle age and is unhapยญpiยญly marยญried. After findยญing work as a readยญer for a litยญerยญary agent, she stumยญbles upon a novยญel which details the meetยญing between the poet Rumi and the mysยญtiยญcal Sham of Tabriz, a whirling dervish, as far back as the 13th century. This meetยญing prompts Rumi into a perยญsonยญal transยญforยญmaยญtion and quest to underยญstand life and love.Order The Forty Rules of Love On AmazonInspired, Ella begins to underยญtake her own simยญiยญlar jourยญney. These two eras are conยญnectยญed via the stoยญry of Shams of Tabriz and cenยญter upon Shamโs wisยญdom, interยญwoยญven with Ellaโs redisยญcovยญery of herยญself and love.
An Unnecessary Woman โ Rabih Alameddine
Rabih Alamedยญdine was born in Jorยญdan to Lebanese parยญents, and his touchยญing tale may make you rethink literature.It details the impact that books, readยญing and litยญerยญaยญture can have on someoneโs life and is also a thorยญoughยญly enjoyยญable read.The stoยญry revolves around Aliyah, who is shunned by sociยญety because she is old and unmarยญried. As an introยญvert, Aliyah escapes into books, and we learn that every year, she transยญlates one novยญel into Araยญbic. Readยญing and transยญlatยญing books proยญvides solace and comยญfort for shy Aliyah.Order An Unnecยญesยญsary Woman On AmazonThe stoยญry begins with an old woman dying her hair blue because she overยญhears the neighยญbours observยญing that her hair is turnยญing white. The stoยญry then conยญtinยญues through twists and tales, which are bound to leave the readยญer wiser.
The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf โ Mohja Kahf
Syrยญiยญan-Amerยญiยญcan writer Mohยญja Kahf presents readยญers with a novยญel of great conยญtemยญpoยญrary relยญeยญvance. With increasยญing globยญalยญizaยญtion, many peoยญple find themยญselves livยญing in places vastยญly difยญferยญent from their homeยญland and their home culยญture, includยญing Muslims.The Girl in the Tanยญgerยญine Scarfdepicts the triยญals of a young Musยญlim woman growยญing up in a non-Musยญlim counยญtry and is a must-read for young Musยญlims or anyยญone interยญestยญed in underยญstandยญing othยญer cultures.Order The Girl in the Tanยญgerยญine Scarf On AmazonThe novยญel opens readยญersโ eyes to the beauยญty and diverยญsiยญty of the Musยญlim comยญmuยญniยญty and folยญlows the daiยญly life of a young woman tryยญing to define her identity.
Love in A Headscarf โ Shelna Zahra Janmohamed
Shelยญna Zahra Janยญmoยญhamed is a British Musยญlim writer who has creยญatยญed a novยญel that folยญlows a Musยญlim woman โ and John Travolta.Order Love in a Headยญscarf On AmazonThe proยญtagยญoยญnist, Sheยญliยญna, secretยญly dreams of marยญryยญing Traยญvolยญta but agrees to folยญlow an arranged marยญriage instead. The narยญraยญtive depicts Shelinaโs search for her true love and lifeยญlong partยญner and the subยญseยญquent disยญcovยญery about herยญself and her faith.
One Thousand and One Nights: A Retelling โ Hanan Al-Shaykh
The title of this novยญel may sound familยญiar for a good reaยญson. The novยญel by Lebanese author Hanan Al-Shaykh is a rethink of the popยญuยญlar Araยญbiยญan Nights tales and is a magยญiยญcal and dream-like stoยญry that will carยญry you away.Order One Thouยญsand and One Nights On AmazonPerยญfect at any time, and espeยญcialยญly valuยญable in uncerยญtain times when you just need to escape for an hour or two. The book is also remarkยญable for being one of the first attempts at reimagยญinยญing this herยญitage by a female author.
Lyrics Alley: A Novel โ Leila Aboulela
Lyrics Alley: A Novยญel is a stoยญry of famยญiยญly turยญmoil and is based on the life of the authorโs uncle, Hasยญsan Awad Aboulela, a famous poet. Writยญten with attenยญtion to hisยญtorยญiยญcal events, the interยญestยญing and capยญtiยญvatยญing novยญel also proยญvides an insight into the culยญture of Sudan.Order Lyrics Alley On AmazonUltiยญmateยญly, though, this is the stoยญry of love between the charยญacยญters Nur and Soraya.
Coloured Lights โ Leila Aboulela
Sudanese writer Aboulela rewards readยญers with anothยญer wonยญderยญful stoยญry in Coloured Lights. This colยญlecยญtion of eleven short stoยญries chronยญiยญcles the daiยญly lives of Musยญlim immiยญgrants in Britain.Order Coloured Lights On Amazon Aboulela gives subยญjects the freeยญdom to tell their stoยญries and use their voice while manยญagยญing to articยญuยญlate in her words the deep emoยญtions felt by peoยญple expeยญriยญencยญing masยญsive changes and chalยญlenges in their lives.
The Kite Runner โ Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runยญner is a well-known tale that became a movie and cenยญters upon the forced sepยญaยญraยญtion of two Afghani friends durยญing a kite-flyยญing comยญpeยญtiยญtion. Beauยญtiยญfulยญly craftยญed, the novยญel treats the politยญiยญcal and social conยญflict with poise and insight.Hosยญseiยญni scriptยญed anothยญer wonยญderยญful stoยญry in A Thouยญsand Splenยญdid Suns. This time, the Afghani author takes us into the lives of Mariยญam and Laila and their batยญtles with abuยญsive patriยญarchy and a tumulยญtuous politยญiยญcal environment.Order The Kite Runยญner On AmazonThe book is famed for its strong charยญacยญters, brilยญliant stoยญryยญtelling and examยญiยญnaยญtion of the source of hatred.
The Map of Love โ Ahdaf Soueif
Egyptยญian novยญelยญist Ahdaf Soueif takes us to her homeยญland to folยญlow the proยญtagยญoยญnist, an Amerยญiยญcan jourยญnalยญist whose heart is set on an Egyptยญian-Amerยญiยญcan conductor.Order The Map of Love On AmazonIn the process, we meet Sharif and Anna, the protagonistโs ancesยญtors, who fell in love many years ago. A tale of love across culยญtures that was shortยญlistยญed for the Man Bookยญer Prize.
The Doveโs Necklace: A Novel โ Raja Alem
Inspired by the holy site of Mecยญca, this novยญel examยญines charยญacยญters whose lives are domยญiยญnatยญed by walls, both physยญiยญcal and metaphorยญiยญcal. Sauยญdi writer Alem has creยญatยญed charยญacยญters who must either choose to remain where life has placed them or to break free โ from traยญdiยญtion, expecยญtaยญtion, the laws of nature and even the dimenยญsions of time and space. This novยญel offers a jourยญney toward the freeยญdom of the soul.Order The Doves Neckยญlace On Amazon
Lastly!
Choose a novยญel from the list above to start your colยญlecยญtion of wonยญderยญful stoยญries from the Midยญdle East, and drift away into a land of endยญless possibilities!And in the video below, you will disยญcovยญer the ten best midยญdle east hisยญtoยญry books.
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