Middle Eastern Fiction

A rich and varied collection of contemporary short stories, extracts from novels, and poetry that will go a long way toward informing the English-speaking world of the latest developments in Iranian literature. This sampling - or to use the Farsi term golchine, a bouquet - provides a window onto an important but sorely neglected segment of world culture. We hope it will also serve to awaken further interest in the work and in translations of Iranian novelists and poets.

He was the brother of "the Arab" killed by the infamous Meursault, the antihero of Camus' classic novel. Seventy years after that event, Harun, who has lived since childhood in the shadow of his sibling's memory, refuses to let him remain anonymous: He gives his brother a story and a name - Musa - and describes the events that led to Musa's casual murder on a dazzlingly sunny beach.

Eleventh century, Northern Spain. Isabella has been a nun in the Christian kingdom of Galicia since she was a child, a gifted herbalist leading a quiet and spiritual life, devoted to God. But on a rare journey outside of the convent, she is taken by Viking raiders and sold to Morocco as a slave. Cruelly treated by her first owner, salvation comes from an unlikely source: Yusuf bin Tashfin, leader of a vast Muslim army intent on conquering all of North Africa. Isabella must struggle not only to survive her new life but to hold true to her faith, which is tested by great dangers...

The Way of the Sufi presents an unparalleled cross-section of material from Sufi schools, Sufi teachings, and classical writings as a basic course of Sufi study. The author begins with the outward aspects of the teaching most likely to puzzle the student coming fresh to the subject. He considers various attitudes to Sufi ideas and evidence of their absorption into medieval Christianity, Hinduism, Jewish mysticism, and modern philosophical teachings.

Gaza Writes Back: Short Stories from Young Writers in Gaza, Palestine, edited by Refaat Alareer, is a compelling collection of short stories from 15 young writers in Gaza, members of a generation that has suffered immensely under Israel's siege and blockade. Their experiences, especially during and following Israel's 2008-2009 offensive known as Operation Cast Lead, have fundamentally impacted their lives and their writing.

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi wrote that eight hundred years ago. People still whisper it to themselves in hospital waiting rooms, on park benches after arguments, at 2am when sleep won't come. His words keep finding the people who need them, the way a song finds you when you need it. If a line of his has ever stopped you mid-breath, then Rumi has already begun his work in you. This collection is where you go to hear the rest. Twenty hours. His complete major works.

كنز أدبي يضم مجموعة من رسائل الأديب البغدادي الشهير الجاحظ، تتميز كل رسالة بتناول موضوع واحد بعمق واستفاضة، وتغطي جوانب متنوعة من التاريخ، الأدب، السياسة، الاجتماع، والدين، مع أسلوب الجاحظ الساحر المليء بالطرافة والبراهين الفكرية، وتتضمن دراسات نادرة لمواضيع مثل القيان، البخلاء، والأئمة، مما يجعله مصدراً فريداً لفهم عصره وعقل الجاحظ الاستثنائي.

In a US-occupied Iraq torn apart by war and sectarian violence, a group of westerners, Arabs and Iraqis share the experience of dealing with life-and-death challenges as they try to carve out a semblance of a normal life amid the chaos and lawlessness. With characters who may never meet under normal circumstances, the book brings them together in often tragic situations induced by their survival instincts, ambition, or hatred.

يسوع ابن الإنسان أو عيسى ابن الإنسان كتاب صدر لجبران خليل جبران عام 1928، وقد صدر باللغة الإنجليزية من نيويورك، ولم يترجم إلى العربية قبل العام 1962. يصف جبران في كتابه حياة المسيح وتعاليمه لكن برؤيا صوفية، فيرسم صورة المسيح من خلال الآخرين، فيورد آراء سبعة وسبعون شخصًا عاصروا المسيح وعرفوه ومعظمهم ممن ورد ذكرهم في الإنجيل، وهم يمثّلون فئات مختلفة، وقد ابتكر جبران منهجًا جديدًا لتحليل شخصية المسيح والتي أضفى عليها صفة الفرح والقوة والمحبة والصّلابة، والتمرد والثورة ، والعمل والصبر، وذلك في أسلوب غنيّ بالصّفاء والسلاسة والفكر.

Teheran, 1979. Behsad, giovane rivoluzionario comunista, lotta per un nuovo ordine dopo la cacciata dello Scià. Ci trascina nelle sue azioni clandestine, ci confessa le sue speranze per un nuovo Iran e ci racconta come, nel cuore della lotta, abbia incontrato l’amore della sua vita, Nahid. Dieci anni dopo, Behsad e Nahid si trovano in Germania. Insieme ai loro figli, Laleh e Morad, sono fuggiti dall’Iran dopo l’ascesa al potere di Khomeini. Di notte tutto è silenzio a Teheran racconta quattro decenni di un popolo in lotta.

كتاب "قرية ظالمة" للكاتب والمفكر الدكتور محمد كامل حسين، الصادر عام 1954، هو تحفة في الأدب الفلسفي. تُعد من أعمق الأعمال التي تناولت الأيام الأخيرة للسيد المسيح، وفازت بجائزة الدولة التشجيعية في الأدب عام 1957

كتاب "البدائع والطرائف" هو مجموعة أدبية وفلسفية للكاتب والشاعر اللبناني جبران خليل جبران، نُشر لأول مرة في مصر عام 1923. يمزج الكتاب بين المقالات، الخواطر، والقصائد، مقدماً رؤية صوفية وفلسفية تدعو إلى تحرير النفس البشرية من القيود والرياء، وتأمل الجمال في جوهر الأشياء لا في قشورها.

Short stories by Arash Dabestani. Please note: This audiobook is in Persian.

تدور أحداث كتاب الشراع والعاصفة في مدينة ساحلية سورية، حيث يرسم الكاتب حياة البحارة وصراعهم اليومي مع البحر وقسوة الظروف المعيشية.

كتاب أدبي يجمع قصصاً وحكايات عن كرم وسخاء الأجواد والمحسنين، يبرز فيه مآثرهم الطيبة ومكارم أخلاقهم، ويُعتبر مرجعاً في باب الجود والكرم في الأدب العربي، ويُلحق به غالباً كتاب "فضل العطاء على العسر" و"الدرر المنضود".

THE HOUSE IS WAITING FOR YOU. From a bold new Palestinian voice comes Our Cut of Salt - an unflinching, sinister and moving take on the haunted house novel, perfect for fans of The Only Good Indians and The Haunting of Hill House. 'Lyrical and haunting, Our Cut of Salt explores the horrors of...

فَلَوْ أَنَّ مَا أَسْعَى لِأَدْنَى مَعِيشَةٍ كَفَانِي وَلَمْ أَطْلُبْ قَلِيلٌ مِنَ المَالِ وَلَكِنَّمَا أَسْعَى لِمَجْدٍ مُؤَثَّلٍ وَقَدْ يُدْرِكُ المَجْدَ المُؤَثَّلَ أَمْثَالِي وَمَا المَرْءُ مَا دَامَتْ حُشَاشَةُ نَفْسِهِ بِمُدْرِكِ أَطْرَافِ الخُطُوبِ وَلَا آلِي

His brother is in jail because of her. Her sister will be his bride and pay the price. The flame burns hotter when she's the ultimate sacrifice. Dark and dangerous Dara is the brother of her father's sworn enemy. He's the vicious villain and handsome as sin. His heart is full of darkness. Her father has warned her to stay away from men like him. His brother is still in jail because of Cyrah who's a thousand miles away. Her younger sister Ismat will suffer.

In this recording are presented readings of all five editions of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat, translated by scholar Edward Fitzgerald, as well as biographical material about Fitzgerald and Omar Khayyam and a laudatory poem by Andrew Lang.

A family secret revealed 40 years ago by a grandmother to her grandson is now an acclaimed Russian historical fiction novel. A Hundred Sweet Promises is the tale of the author’s grandfather, Nasrosoltan, a famed composer, who on the eve of World War I travels from Persia to Russia to study classical music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with such masters as Rimsky-Korsakov.