When you’re feeling lonely ’cause your significant other is out of town, and you’re bored ’cause it’s a vacation and you’re trapped in town, nothing’s better than to catch up on postponed readings. And as Arabic books seem a distraction while I teach English literature (the mind switching between Arabic and English texts seems to malfunction sometimes), I’m hoping that this vacation would be a time for me to cover what this image displays. I already read Rabee3 Jaber’s ‘I3terafat,’ Mais Al-Othman’s ‘3aqeedat Raqs’ and ‘3ara’is Al-souf’ so have 6 remaining books to cover, not counting 3alam Al-Ma3rifa’s book which I’m finding it hard to get into (reading anything theoretical in Arabic is completely beyond me, especially when it’s a theory I focus on in my own research, so used to reading the English terms), and 7ayat Sharara’s ‘Itha Al-Ayam Aghsaqat’ which I’ve read a long time ago.
So an update on the covered material.
‘I3tirafat’ is an amazingly sad book. Very captivating and hard to put down. A story of a boy struggling with who he is. But it goes beyond the usual narratives about the search of one’s identity.
Mais Al-Othman is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. I read her ‘Ashya’oha Al-Sagheera’ a while back and her simple and clear style quickly seduced me. Then I read ‘3akeedat Raqs’ which is just completely brilliant in its style, and much more advanced than her earlier short story collection. Of course I made the mistake of reading ‘3ara’is Al-Souf’ after ‘3aqeedat Raqs’ and quickly noted that, although ‘3ara’is’ is beautifully written and as captivating as all her stories, ‘3aqeedat’ sits on its own pedestal. It is just brilliant in style and story. Very captivating and enjoyable to read.
Now do you think that I have enough distractions to stop me from thinking of what I miss? Or will the pangs of missing my significant other drive me to the edge of depression like it usually does?
Reading makes time go fast. So, I think you have enough distractions.
throw in some music, your laptop and something to eat and your good to go
but missing your significant other might just kick in the middle of all these distraction …
one more thing….missing the significant other is not so bad, it makes you appreciate them
I’ve always wanted to start reading Arabic literature seriously. But I want to make sure I pick something that isn’t too hard or too bad that I’d end up not wanting to read anymore.
Thanks for the reviews.
Fajr. I suggest you start with a Kuwait writer then. Try either Bothayna Al-Eesa or Mais Al-Othman. Try Bothayna Al-Eesa’s 3aroos Al-ma6ar. I just finished it. Interesting. Mais Al-Othman’s 3aqeedat Raq9 is also good and captivating.
Nymphadora. Missing is always bad. All this romantic talk about distance making the heart grow fonder is just that, romantic, fake, and mislead. Missing is just missing. Appreciated they are indeed. No need to add hurt to that. But yeah, music and food are good temporary distractions.
Amethystos. I don’t know if time’s growing faster. Too much time this vacation.