Banipal 34
Spring 2009

The first issue this year is devoted to fiction writers from all over the Arab world - from Egypt and Iraq, from Libya, Morocco, Palestine and Syria, and from Saudi Arabia. But we begin with tributes to the great writer Tayeb Salih, who sadly passed away in February and also pay tribute to two writers, Bassam Hajjar from Lebanon, and Yusuf Abu Rayya from Egypt, both aged 54.

TAYEB SALIH (1929–2009)
Tribute by Denys Johnson-Davies
Tribute by Leila Aboulela

The World of Arab Fiction begins with Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim, and an excerpt from his new novel in English translation, Stealth.

Other excerpts include:
Abdu Khal – Excerpt from the novel Clay, translated by Thomas Aplin.
Layla al-Juhni – Excerpt from Jahiliya, translated by Piers Amodia.
Hassouna Mosbahi – Excerpt from the novel A Tunisian Tale, translated by Max Weiss.
Laila Lalami – Excerpt from the novel Secret Son.
Fahad al-Ateeq – Excerpt from the novel A Postponed Being, translated by Kathryn Stapley.

Banipal 34 includes many book reviews to whet readers’ appetites. They include Hunger by Mohamed El-Bisatie, The Dark Side of Love by Rafik Schami, A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar, Borrowed Time by Hassan Daoud, Khan al-Khalili by Naguib Mahfouz, Nights of Musk: Stories from Old Nubia by Haggag Hassan Oddoul, As Doha Said by Bahaa Taher, The Last of the Angels by Fadhil al-Azzawi, Tales from Dayrut by Mohamed Mustagab, Translating Libya – short stories, ed: Ethan Chorin, The Novel by Nawal El Saadawi.