When it came out, this book was actually banned in Saudi Arabia. It’s written in a mix of classical Arabic, Saudi dialect, and other foreign words thrown in to more accurately reflect the ways in which these characters would have communicated. These linguistic and stylistic choices are one of the coolest things coming out of MENA region literature – books and novels that are written in the same dialects spoken by ordinary people – not the formal Arabic of TV presenters and national speeches. The book […]
Travel and Food Through the Eyes of Bourdain
A Cook’s Tour is the pretty standard Anthony Bourdain blend of offensive humor, drinking stories, and gratuitous food porn. I greatly enjoy his style of writing, and love reading his descriptions of food – for me, it comes alive. Although Bourdain is first and foremost known for his food writing and biting, sometimes nasty tone, I think his strongest writing comes when Bourdain gets sentimental and examines the beauty in the world, reflects on his surroundings. Read the rest of my review here.
Several depressing true stories in French.
For one thing, this book is in French. There’s no translation in English, and it would probably also be hard to do, since parts are in transliterated Moroccan Arabic, although not much. This is a collection of stories of women, children, and of whole families in Morocco in the 1980s. Aïcha Ech-Chenna is often regarded as a hero in Morocco. She was a pioneer in the field of social work, and completely changed the way that most Moroccans see marginalized people in their society. Ech-Chenna […]