Middle East/North African Lit discussion

Thanks Nile daughter :)

Hello! I love reading books and above all to learn and to share about different cultures around the world. I'm a member "Great African Reads"," Indian Literature and The Arts", "Latino and Latin America Literature" and "Japanese Literature"
Thank you, Marieke and Nile Daughter to moderate this great group:)
As an educator, I believe that we need to share from each other, from our own culture by reading and discussing books.

Marieke, Nile Daughter I'm a learner in your group !

Nile daughter wrote: "Hello Convert_chica :)
Welcome on board
I did not read for Ben Jalloun , but as far as I know This Blinding Absence of Light is his best ."

I agree with you Nile Daughter This Blinding Absence of Light is his best. I'll also recommend The Sand Child and The Sacred Night

Hi Jon!

i love Melanie's yellow boots!

Welcome convert chica! so far this is a really great group. i hope you like it here. :D

Michelle, thanks for the tips on Tahar ben Jelloun. i've wanted to read his work but haven't managed yet.

Marieke wrote: "i love Melanie's yellow boots!

Welcome convert chica! so far this is a really great group. i hope you like it here. :D

Michelle, thanks for the tips on Tahar ben Jelloun. i've wanted to read his ..."

Thanks Marieke :D

Hello all,

I joined because I would love to read more literature from the ME. I currently live in Switzerland. So far I've only seen some movies from ME and they all have been very enlightening and somehow warm and moving.

Convert_chica , you are welcome :)

Michelle , I am very happy to see your post , thank you for your sweet words :D

Marieke , I read your note about Greek lit , who knows ! this group is expanding :p

Natalie , Nice to have you with us , I hope you will like it in here , BTW ; which movies did you watch ?

Hi. I'm really looking forward to reading with you

Hello Viks :) we are happy to have you with us .

Nile daughter wrote: "Convert_chica , you are welcome :)

Michelle , I am very happy to see your post , thank you for your sweet words :D

Marieke , I read your note about Greek lit , who knows ! this group is expan..."

Thank you, Nile Daughter:) I'll follow the group and its activities as I can (I'm back to The University)
I'm very impressed by all the excellent books' recommendations and discussions, here.

Nile daughter wrote: "Convert_chica , you are welcome :)

Michelle , I am very happy to see your post , thank you for your sweet words :D

Marieke , I read your note about Greek lit , who knows ! this group is expan..."

Nile Daughter,

I've watched Satin Rouge, the Color of Paradise...; yet the title of the movie I liked best eludes me. It was about an older man and his life in a town; relationships...it was a beautiful movie, even though I do not remember much of the plot.

Hello everyone,

I'm Hiba from the UAE, though I have Egyptian, Turkish and Saudi blood too :p

Dubai Reader, a current member in the group invited me to join this group given my interest in Middle Eastern Literature.

I look forward to reading everyones views on various books as well as sharing my own.

Michelle : that was a great feedback , thanks :)

Natalie : I do not know this movie ,but I will check it , we have a thread for movies here , feel free to participate :)

Heba : simply wooow :D
I am glad Dubai reader invited you , and I hope you will like it in here :)

Hi Natalie, Vikz, and Hiba! welcome aboard!

Hello Nile Daughter,
Thank you for your "get to know each other" note.
I'm American and glad to join this group.I am looking forward to material about Egypt and Norh Africa, two wonderful places.
Ann

Hello,
I'm from Kuwait, I joined to find some recommendations for good ME lit books since I've only recently become interested.
Looking forward.

Hi, I am from the UK, I lived in Egypt for a couple of years at the end of the 1990s and my heart is still there!

Barbara : welcome on board , I hope you will like it in here :)

Shayma
Happy to have you with us , I hope you can help us with book recommendations from Kuwait .

Hannah
That was so sweets , greetings from Egypt :D

Good morning! I was initially exposed to North African literature through a history class and an anthropology class at my alma mater, UC Irvine (also where Jacques Derrida taught, though that was before I was a student there). I became very interested in Algerian literature, and from there started listening to the music as well!

I'm a medieval historian by education, and my thesis is on Arabic texts that feature contact with Scandinavian (aka Vikings) in what would become Russia. I suppose that's my example of my affinity with Middle Eastern texts as well as North African.

I'm very glad to see other fans of this group of literature, and happy to meet you all.

Chelsea
I am so glad to have you with us , wow ..I have to read (Arabic / scandinavain ) part again to understand !:)

we are already reading about Algeria until the end of the month , hope you can join us , also we openned the 3 polls for the next month readings .

any way , feel free to interact with this group in any way you like :D

I currently reside in Athens, Ohio, USA, but I work with writers around the world. I'd love to attend one of the big book fairs in the Middle East.

wow! so many new people! hello and welcome to Barbara, Shayma, Hannah, Chelsea, and Robin!

Hello, I'm from the United States. I have never traveled outside of the United States, but I love reading Middle Eastern fiction.

Marieke wrote: I know Greece is considered European, but what would you guys think of including Greek writing when we get to the Turkish part of the tour...
...contemporary Greek and Turkish literature--if it hasn't been translated into English yet, what's the likelihood that it is in German?"

If anyone is inclined to read poetry, Constantine P. Cavafy is an obvious choice, as he lived in and was inpired so much by Alexandria.

Soti Triantafyllou, a contemporary Greek writer, has written The Pencil Factory (available in German and French but not yet in English), a novel about an "Egyptiot" Greek family. The assumption that Alexandria was historically a "Greek" homeland similar to Istanbul, Izmir, etc. may be an interesting concept for discussion, particularly in comparison/contrast with other European "colonial" literatures.

Dido Sotiriou's Farewell Anatolia is a standard of the "Asia Minor disaster" theme I referred to earlier, but personally it's not something I would want to read. I prefer fiction that is more complex (not so one-sided point of view), or something more contemporary, eg. this work by Giannis Xanthoulis http://www.gbip.gr/main.asp?page=show... (not yet translated). For readers of French Xanthoulis's Un turc dans le jardin is available.

If you don't mind crime fiction, Petros Markaris devotes one of his Inspector Haritos series to the Greek/Turkish connection; it has already been translated in several languages. Crime fiction not a genre I usually read, but this one I was curious about. Markaris has his way of providing commentary on contemporary political & social matters, and in this one he doesn't fail to make some interesting comments on the "lost homelands" obsession of the Greeks.

Maybe more relevant would be to consider Greece's Ottoman heritage, as part of the Near East focus of this group. In particular I think of the island of Crete and also the northern city of Thessaloniki. If the two Turkish novels I mentioned earlier about the Cretan exodus were available in English they could have been valid choices for reading. Although set in Ottoman Crete (now Greece), they are from a "Turkish" point of view. I am referring to the writing style, the language, the imagery, the themes, etc. more so than making a historical/political distinction.

For Thessaloniki and its multicultural/Ottoman character there is Leon Sciaky's memoir Farewell to Salonica, maybe as a complement to André Aciman's Out of Egypt or Lucette Lagnado's The Man in the Sharkskin Suit.

There's also Mark Mazower's Salonica City of Ghosts.

Kedros publishers based in Athens have made an effort to make contemporary Greek literature available in English http://www.kedros.gr/main.php?cPath=582 but they don't seem to be adding newer titles to their catalog. So it's really up to foreign publishers to make more Greek works available. I have a feeling that locating contemporary Greek fiction translated into French or German may be easier than finding English translations.

Greetings from Canada. I've read a bit from the region--including Yasmina Khadra, Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy, Hisham Matar, Edward Said--and I want to know more and read more! I'm looking forward to learning from you and with you.

yay Oman! Hanan, you are the second Omani to say hi! :D
someday i want to visit Oman...

Hi Leslie! welcome aboard! it looks like you've read a lot of good stuff. we are reading Said's "Orientalism" over a four month period if you want to join/chime in. forgive me for assuming that you have read it already...

Okyrhoe, that is the most awesome answer to my question. i want to read everything you mentioned. even the crime novel. i actually like crime novels and thrillers if they are literary--really fun stuff! and woo-hoo! yay for me i can function in german! i will definitely look for greek and turkish books in german if they haven't been translated into english. and i have that Salonica book!! i bought when it came out and never got around to reading it. :(

okyrhoe wrote: "Marieke wrote: I know Greece is considered European, but what would you guys think of including Greek writing when we get to the Turkish part of the tour...
...contemporary Greek and Turkish lite..."

Thank you Okyrhoe for posting this very informative list!

Hello,

I just found your fascinating group. I live in the MidSouth United States and have never been to the Middle East or North Africa. I would love to learn more about it through literature. I did see a mention earlier in the thread of Ahdaf Soueif. I was touched by her novel The Map of Love and have In the Eye of the Sun on my shelf. I appreciate the chance to be a part of this group and be exposed to more great literature.

Lesile and Hanan ...Cnada and Oman :D, I am very happy to have you both with us !

Okyrhoe , oh my god … I have to study to your post and check if I can reach any to add to my shelves !!
SarahC

I am so glad you joined us :) wooow , we are having more and more Americans and that is encouraging ! we started our next stop polls about Egypt and Sudan , the map of love is already in one of them , I read it and also read (in the eye of the sun) and I loved them both even though they are totally different from each other !

Hi Sarah C! and welcome! In the Eye of the Sun is one of my most favorite books ever. it's a bit depressing in atmosphere, though. but i loved it like that.

Hello! :) I'm Val. I'm from the U.S. and have only really read memoirs from the Middle East so far (I'm particularly interested in those from Iran), but I'd love to discover some fiction, too!

you've come to the right place, Val! :D

Hi everyone,
My name is Sheila. I am Scottish, usually live in England, lived for 3 years in the Mid West of the US for work, and have spent the last 15 months in Orissa State, in eastern India with a local NGO.
I've dipped in to this board for recommendations and decided to say Hi. I may not get much opportunity to read many of your suggestions whilst here but once I return home I hope to have a new reading list :)
My interest in the area comes from travelling in Morocco and Algeria. I am a child of the desert :)
I discovered the literature of this area initially from stumbling across Naguib Mahfouz and thought I had found heaven in writing. As his work began to get more available in English I have steadily consumed it.
Reading seriously for me is sadly only possible in translation. My French is passable at a slow one to one conversation, my Spanish is much better for reading, up to newspaper level, but spoken Spanish badly lacks practice.
My Arabic is a very basic few words, although I recently acquired a spoken course of study. But for needs must for English translations, so recommendations for good ones from native speakers of the original language would be much appreciated.
Looking forward to an expanding literary horizon.

Welcome Val , I hope you will find it interesting in here :)

Sheila, thank you for this generous intro , wow ... you crossed the world map ! a Scottish who is a child of the desert ! that was so sweet :)

I am one of Naguib Mahfouz fans too :D
We have added lots of books to the bookshelves so far , I hope this can be useful for you , but you will have more details in each stop recommendations :)

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...

Cheers Niledaughter (nice handle!)
I have been lucky enough to travel a lot, and like to keep my reading diverse as well. I've started to browse through this groups books and have already begun my new bookshelf! As I said will probably be browsing more than posting for now but it looks a good group. I love the idea of the cruise!

Hi =9)

I am from Canada, and I have always loved reading.. I am married to an Egyptian and lately or well over the last 3 years have become more and more interested in the books from the middle east region. Sorry for my late intro I currently work and have 3 kids so sometimes it's a bit hard to get time to even write reviews of the books I have read.
I am enjoying so much the different styles of writing my only problem now is to get all the books and try to read them all at the same time lol while doing everyting else too, I look forward to being a part of this group =)

Take care Laylah =9)

Sheila, thank you :) I am glad you like it here .

Laylah , I am so glad to see your post and to know more about you :D

Hi everyone, I have just skim-read the latest few comments, and a few things made me want to respond - I keep meaning to anyway. Laylah, I understand why you don't have much time to write reviews - I have 4 kids and I struggle to have time just to keep up with the discussions!

Leslie, I am reading Naguib Mahfouz at the moment (Cairo trilogy, first volume) and I am really enjoying it. I am planning to give Orientalism a go soon (dipped into it when I lived in Cairo but haven't really got stuck in to it - could be tricky with my levels of tiredness at the moment, but I'll do my best!)

Sarah C and Nile daughter, I am also planning to read The Map of Love - I have voted for it in the poll and I hope it will be chosen as I am going to read it anyway! I am going to start with the books I already have, as funds are limited and I struggle to find time to go to the library/ read books in time/ remember to return or renew - but I will try to get hold of as many of the books as possible, whichever are chosen for next month. (Sorry last sentence ungrammatical, I am very tired!)

Thanks for all the inspiration, Hannah

Hi Everyone,
My name is Awot. I am Ethiopian and I live and grew up in California. I am interested in expanding my knowledge on all regions of the world, so right now I am focusing on middle east and Africa. I am looking forward to the readings and discussions!

Yay! It's so nice to see our group growing! Welcome everyone!

Hannah , welcome :) it was pleasure reading your lines ; you lived in Egypt too !

BTW even if a certain book was not chosen by the poll , it is a free group , you can make a separate thread in the cruise salon (individual reads) corner , sure someone will join there :)

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...

For (the map of love) it is in a hot compotation with (The Yacoubian Building) , so we will see what we can arrange ;)

Awot , wow … Ethiopian ! welcome onboard , glad you joined us :D

Bernadette , I am very existed too :D

Hi to everybody. I'm new in GoodReads and I just joined the group some days ago. I'm from Spain (sorry for my English, then ;-) I really love reading Arabic literature, which is almost unknown in Spain. The problem: no translations at all (with some exceptions of course). Fortunately, I can read in Arabic. Now, I am reading last novel by the Iraquian Sinan Antoon: Wahda-ha shayaratu l-rumman. He himself is translating the novel into English (The pomegranate alone) so I encourage you all to read it when it comes out.

Have a nice reading

Hello everybody! and thank you so much for introducing yourselves! I am so excited about how international this group is becoming. :D

Marieke wrote: "Hello everybody! and thank you so much for introducing yourselves! I am so excited about how international this group is becoming. :D"

Your group is fantastic, Marieke, Nile Daughter & NG ! I'll follow all the cruises, read - in French or in English - the books' recommendations from Arabic Literature.

Marieke ...:D
Michelle , Thank you , it is fantastic because it has so many interesting members like you :)

Hi, I'm Irish, and live in England and Egypt. I am very interested in social history, women's issues and religion/spirituality and how we each find our own Source!
I am so pleased that there is such a wealth of books to read here!!!! I am currently reading 'A Daughter of Isis' by Nawal El Saadawi. I have read some by Naguib Mafouz and Nayra Atiya and am very much looking forward to the treasure trove of books here!!! Joy!!
I joined this week!

Nile daughter wrote: "Marieke ...:D
Michelle , Thank you , it is fantastic because it has so many interesting members like you :)"

Thank you for your sweet words, Nile Daughter :-)
You have started a lot of interesting topics with the moderators & the members of the group about Arabic Culture & Arabic Literature.

I can't wait to discover all the themes, the book's recommendations & to share with all the members during The Middle East/ North Africa group's cruises.

Many thanks to Goodreads too, the captain of the cruise.

Hello Irish , So nice to have you with us , our next stop will be Egypt , hope you like it , I did not read for Nayra Atiya , I will check her :)

Michelle :)