The Anchor Book of Modern Arabic Fiction

This is a very comprehensive collection of modern Arabic language fiction, in English. My only complaint, if it could even be called that, is that some of them are not really short stories but chapters taken from popular novels. That in and of itself is not bad as it can inspire the reader to seek out the novel. The problem is that a couple of them seemed uprooted in that there was not enough background information. Some of these stories are political dealing with wars, partitions and colonialism. One deals with a so called honor killing, another the harshness of desert life, others with forbidden and lost loves, conflict between allegiance to custom and a desire for individual fulfillment. A few were satirical, like the excerpt from Alaa Al Aswany's The Yacoubian Building. This reminded me very much of Nawal El saadawi's Woman at Point Zero. A young woman with pride, principles, and a degree loses several jobs because she refuses to put out. Finally, one of her neighbors sets her straight by telling her to wise up and realize that her degree is useless and that putting out is part of every job, that the smart thing is to learn how to negotiate. What's daunting about this satire is that Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero was written in the 1970s and The Yacoubian Building is was written in the last few years. So, there hasn't been a lot of progress.

I agree with the reviewer who complains that some of the excerpts here are too short. It's impossible to know whether this is due to the publisher or the editor, though. Johnson-Davies' workload included being the translator of several stories in this anthology so one might assume that his workload didn't give him the chance to create a longer anthology or a two-part work. The strengths and characteristic styles of each author generally come through, though, so this book does serve its purpose as a sampler. After reading it, I was able to make a short list of about ten authors that I would like read more of.

The West has so little access to Arabic literature, and there are few translations available, except for perhaps a handful of writers. So this incredible collection is a much-welcomed -- and much-needed -- addition to my library. If we want to understand, and connect with, the Arab world, getting a glimpse into the culture is an important step, and this terrific collection goes a long way toward helping with that goal.