Read Around Asia Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Asia.
Best books from Asia (1981)
1091.
Honor Lost : Love and Death in Modern-day Jordan by Norma Khouri EN
JordanDescription:
Dalia was a young, beautiful, Arabian Muslim living with her family in Amman, Jordan. This text gives a harrowing account by a Jordanian woman of the honour-killing of her lifelong friend at the hands of her own father, after she fell in love with a young Catholic man.
1092.
Time of White Horses by Ibrahim Nasrallah EN
Description:
This comi-tragic fictional-factual saga takes place in the environs of Jerusalem, from late Ottoman times to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. A vivid picture of Palestinian villagers' preoccupations and aspirations--their ties to their land, to their animals, and to one another. Relives the realities of the Palestinian village in the early twentieth century, Zionist colonization and its impact on Arab rural life, the trauma that accompanied the British mandate and its aftermath, the Palestinians' struggle to maintain the autonomy and dignity they had known for centuries on end... continue
1093.
Cities of Salt by Abdelrahman Munif, Abd al-Raḥmān Munīf EN
Description:
Banned in Saudia Arabia, this is a blistering look at Arab and American hypocrisy following the discovery of oil in a poor oasis community. "From the Trade Paperback edition.
1094.
The cry of the dove by Fadia Faqir EN
Description:
Left pregnant after an illicit love affair, Saalma, a young Bedouin woman from Hima in the Levant flees her people to escape the honor killing waiting for her at the hands of her tribe and seeks asylum in England. Original.
1095.
An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine EN
Description:
An obsessive introvert in Beirut, eschewed by her family and neighbors for her divorced status and lack of religious reverence, quietly translates favorite books into Arabic while struggling with her aging body until an unthinkable disaster threatens what little life remains to her. By the best-selling author of The Hakawati. 20,000 first printing.
1096.
Description:
In her coming-of-age memoir, refugee advocate Luma Mufleh writes of her tumultuous journey to reconcile her identity as a gay Muslim woman and a proud Arab-turned-American refugee. With no word for “gay” in Arabic, Luma may not have known what to call the feelings she had growing up in Jordan during the 1980s, but she knew well enough to keep them secret. It was clear that not only would her family have trouble accepting her, but trapped in a conservative religious society, she could’ve also been killed if anyone discovered her sexuality. Luma spent her teenage years increasingly desperate to ... continue
1097.
The Monotonous Chaos of Existence by Hisham Bustani EN
Description:
The stories within Hisham Bustani's The Monotonous Chaos of Existence explore the turbulent transformation in contemporary Arab societies. With a deft and poetic touch, Bustani examines the interpersonal with a global lens, connects the seemingly contradictory, and delves into the ways that international conflict can tear open the individuals that populate his world-all while pushing the narrative form into new and unexpected terrain.
1098.
The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine EN
Description:
“Here is absolute beauty. One of the finest novels I’ve read in years.” —Junot Diaz An astonishingly inventive, wonderfully exuberant novel that takes us from the shimmering dunes of ancient Egypt to the war-torn streets of twenty-first-century Lebanon. In 2003, Osama al-Kharrat returns to Beirut after many years in America to stand vigil at his father’s deathbed. The city is a shell of the Beirut Osama remembers, but he and his friends and family take solace in the things that have always sustained them: gossip, laughter, and, above all, stories. Osama’s grandfather was a hakawati, or storyte... continue
1099.
Description:
Turki al-Hamad's explosive novel Adama became an unlikely bestseller in the Middle East, selling more than 20,000 copies despite being officially banned in several countries, including the author's native Saudi Arabia. A compelling coming-of-age story, it also offers a rare and stunning inside look at the hidden roots of dissent in the modern Arab world. In his tranquil middle-class neighbourhood, eighteen-year-old Hisham doesn't quite fit in. He's a budding philosopher who spends his days reading banned books and developing his political ideals. His Saudi Arabia is a nation embroiled in inter... continue
1100.
Description:
Two brothers fight to reunite amidst the turmoil of the Syrian War. Since the passing of their father, Omar has tried—and in his little brother Sufyan’s eyes, failed—to be the man of his family of Syrian refugees. As Omar waits in line for rations, longing for the books he left behind when his family fled their home, Sufyan explores more nontraditional methods to provide for his family. Ignoring his brother’s warnings, Sufyan gets more and more involved with a group that provides him with big rewards for doing seemingly inconsequential tasks. When the group abruptly gets more intense—taking Su... continue