The Watermelon Boys
It is the winter of 1915 and Iraq has been engulfed by the First World War. Hungry for independence from Ottoman rule, Ahmad leaves his peaceful family life on the banks of the Tigris to join the Brit … continued
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In the Spider’s Room
Hani was out for an evening stroll near Cairo’s Tahrir Square when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. An informant had identified him, and he was thrown into the back of a police truck. There began … continued
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The Unexpected Love Objects of Dunya Noor
Aspiring photographer Dunya Noor discovers early on that her curious spirit, rebellious nature, and very curly hair are a recipe for disaster in 1980s Syria. And at the tender age of thirteen, she is … continued
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The hoopoe blog
“I write best when I feel that nothing is stable in my life”
Donia Kamal is an Egyptian novelist and producer. She has produced more than fifty documentary films and numerous television shows for various Arab networks. Cigarette Number Seven is her second novel…
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Rana Haddad – In Seven Answers
Her debut novel, The Unexpected Love Objects of Dunya Noor, is making a lot of noise. In their review of Rana Haddad’s Syrian novel, Arab News wrote: “[An] exceptional debut novel. Satirical and witty…
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“In times of war, family becomes more important as societies become more sectarian.”
Award-winning Iraqi author Sinan Antoon was in France last week for the launch of the French translation of his novel ‘Ave Maria’, published in English in 2017 by Hoopoe as The Baghdad Eucharist, tra…
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