5 Of The Best Holiday Books To Read This Summer
We’ve shortlisted the five best new books by female MENA writers to keep you company on your holiday
This summer, be transported – and we don’t just mean to a Caribbean island or the French Riviera, although you should absolutely do that, too. We’re talking about the vividly painted, mythical world of The Battle Drum, Saara El-Arifi’s just-released fantasy, or 1960s Morocco – the setting for Leïla Slimani’s sexy, stylish novel, Watch Us Dance. Here are five brilliant new releases, all authored by women from the MENA region, all hot off the press. Pack one or all of them – luggage restrictions permitting.
5 Of The Best Holiday Books To Read This Summer
Riverspirit
By Leila Aboulela
In this powerful tale of family and the fight for freedom, Cairo-born Leila Aboulela transports us to 19th-century Sudan during the Mahdist War. Orphans Akuany and Yaseen must navigate a treacherous world of war and political uprising, fighting for survival while at the same time searching for love, identity and refuge. You won’t want to put it down.
Watch Us Dance
By Leïla Slimani
This month sees the release of the English translation of Watch Us Dance, in which bestselling author Leïla Slimani draws upon her family’s own story. Set in 1960s Morocco, it follows two French-Moroccan siblings as they navigate their way through a hostile, exciting and fast-changing world, to find freedom – and themselves.
Between Two Moons
By Aisha Abdel Gawad
This hotly tipped debut charts the coming-of-age of Amira and Lina, twins living in Brooklyn, over the course of one Ramadan. With their brother just released from prison and post-9/11 Islamophobia looming large, the sisters’ summer is turned upside down. This fearless bildungsroman examines what it means to be a young Muslim in America.
The Skin and its Girl
By Sarah Cypher
“There is no truth but in old women’s tales.” In this remarkable novel by Sarah Cypher, a Palestinian-American woman seeks to make sense of her own identity – sexual, familial and otherwise – by reading her great-aunt’s partially translated diaries. This is a metaphor-rich family saga that dives deep and deftly into the power of storytelling.
The Battle Drum
By Saara El-Arifi
The Battle Drum is the second book in Saara El-Arifi’s epic fantasy trilogy, set in a world inspired by Arabian mythology and Ghanaian folklore. In this twisty sequel, Anoor, Sylah and Hassa make discoveries about the empire that threaten to ignite a war; they must race against time to guard their land.
Images Supplied
From The Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s June 2023 Issue