The Jerusalem-based crime writer, Matt Rees, recently chose ten novels that offer ‘a much more profound contact’ with this region than the news. I found this list at Guardian – check out the original post to read excerpts of each.
I’ve only read Palace Walk, but LOVED the entire Cairo trilogy by Mahfouz…
1. Wolf Dreams by Yasmina Khadra
2. Let It Come Down by Paul Bowles
3. Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree by Tariq Ali
4. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
5.Cities of Salt by Abdelrahman Munif
6. The Yacoubian Building by Alaa al-Aswany
7. The Secret Life of Saeed (The Pessoptimist) by Emile Habiby
8. Mountolive by Lawrence Durrell
9. Prairies of Fever by Ibrahim Nasrallah
10. The Rock: A Seventh Century Tale of Jerusalem by Kanaan Makiya
Me too…Like you, I loved Palace Walk and the Mafouz trilogy. Thanks for Guardian’s list…I have not read one of the other books on this list and haven’t heard of a few of them! I will share it with my book groups.