10 to try: Arabic novels

We've picked out 10 of the top reads to try if you're looking for something different to get stuck into this week Discuss this article

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1 Essential Tawfiq Al Hakim compiled by Denis Johnson-Davis
A selection of the most important prose and stage works of the Egyptian playwright, this includes his best known full-length plays, The Sultan’s Dilemma and The Tree Climber, as well as an extract from his most popular novel, Diary Of A Country Prosecutor, drawing on his own experience as a public prosecutor in the Egyptian countryside.
Dhs105, Magrudy’s says: Perfect for your first taste of classic Arabic prose.

2 Cell Block Five by Fadhil Al Azzawi
Plucked from a Baghdad café and deposited in a cell for political prisoners, the plight of Cell Block Five’s hero Aziz mirrors that of the author’s own incarceration in Iraq. It’s a tribute to the prison’s men – both inmates and guards – and an indictment of man’s gratuitous inhumanity to man, showing how the transition from abused to abuser, tortured to torturer, can be all too easy.
Dhs77, Magrudy’s says: A truly compelling story that transcends cultural boundaries.

3 Sunset Oasis by Bahaa Taher
Winner of the first Arabic Booker Prize, Sunset Oasis is a historical tale set in late 19th century Egypt. Mahmoud, a disgraced Egyptian officer, is posted to the remote desert town of Siwa, accompanied by his Irish wife. But neither is prepared for the stultifying heat, the hostility of the townspeople, or the disturbing events that befall them in the other-worldliness of the Sunset Oasis. This is a tale of mystery and frustrated passions set against the backdrop of an exotic locale. The English translation is due out in October.
Dhs85, Magrudy’s says: Everyone’s talking about the forthcoming release of Sunset Oasis.

4 Chicago by Alaa Al Aswani
A competition to find the nation’s favourite book, launched at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair earlier this year, saw people vote in droves to name Chicago the winner. On the campus of the University of Illinois Medical Centre in a post-9/11 Chicago, a medley of Egyptian and American lives collide. Among the players are an anti-establishment American professor, whose relationship with a younger African-American woman becomes a moving target for intolerance; a veiled PhD candidate whose conviction in the code of her traditional upbringing is shaken by her exposure to American society; an émigré who has fervently embraced his new American identity, but cannot escape his Egyptian roots when faced with the issue of his daughter’s ‘honour’; and an Egyptian state security informant who spouts religious doctrines while hankering after money and power.
Dhs98, Magrudy’s says: One of the best examples of contemporary Arabic fiction.

5 The Essential Yusuf Idris compiled by Denis Johnson-Davies
Yusuf Idris wrote 12 collections of superbly crafted short stories, mainly bringing to life the experiences of ordinary, poor people. He also wrote numerous plays, novels and novellas, the best of which are also sampled here.
Dhs98, Magrudy’s says: Yusuf Idris is widely celebrated as the father of the Arabic short story.