Stories of war and hope: the shortlist for the International Prize For Arabic Fiction


  • English
  • Arabic

The shortlist for the International Prize For Arabic Fiction features writers from Morocco, Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria – among them a debut novelist in his twenties and a 75-year-old veteran publishing his 45th book. The authors will all compete for the US$50,000 (Dh183,657) prize, which will be announced in Abu Dhabi in April. Ben East sheds light on the six candidates.

Numidia by Tareq Bakari

The story: A romantic tale with an interesting device – an orphan's troubled life in Morocco is told from the viewpoint of a former girlfriend, who wasn't his first love ... and isn't his last.

The author: Numidia is the first novel by Bakari, 28, the youngest novelist on the shortlist. Still, the Meknes-based Arabic-­language teacher has been working towards his debut – which took three years to write and led him to a small village in the Rif Mountains – with a wide range of shorter creative pieces.

Destinies: Concerto of the Holocaust and the Nakba by Rabai Al-Madhoun

The story: Definitely the book on the shortlist with the most innovative structure, Destinies is written in four parts to mirror a concerto movement. Al-Madhoun uses the fertile ground of his own long experience to chart the Palestinian exodus from Israel in 1948, telling the story of life under occupation.

The author: The only writer on the shortlist to have been nominated before, Al-Madhoun, now in his seventies, is a Palestinian writer with some pedigree in newspapers and magazines (he's now a London-based editor), although Destinies is only his second novel. The Lady From Tel Aviv was translated into English in 2013, with The National praising its "lovely descriptions" and "classic dialogue". It won

Mercury by Mohamed Rabie

The story: Rabie takes the failure of the 2011 revolution in Egypt as a starting point in this intriguing future fantasy. In Mercury, the counter revolution has become a reality, as Cairo is riven by a struggle between an occupying power and a popular resistance.

The author: One of two ­thirty-somethings on the list, Rabie is everything the International Prize For Arabic Fiction wishes to encourage in the ­Arabic literary scene: he took part in Nadwa (­IPAF's annual workshop) for young writers in 2012. The Egyptian had already published two books by then, but Mercury feels like a distillation of all his concerns in politics, fantasy and philosophy. You can read the first chapter in English at www.madamasr.com

Praise for the Women of the Family by Mahmoud Shukair

The story: Shukair has been researching the lives of a Bedouin Palestinian tribe who had moved from tents to stone houses near Jerusalem for some time. This work coalesced into the story of a section of 1950s Palestinian society who remained out of the spotlight and unwilling to give way to modernity – a tale of change and culture clash.

The author: Palestinian Shukair is the exact opposite of the young or debut novelists on this year's shortlist – incredibly Praise For the Women of the Family is his 45th book. It's a cause for some celebration that Shukair is still publishing stories shot through with joy, tragedy, the surreal and the everyday well into his mid-­seventies. A collection of short fiction called Mordechai's Moustache and His Wife's Cats is ­available in English.

A Sky Close to our House by Shahla Ujayli

The story: Ujayli likes to concentrate on a more classical form of Arabic fiction writing, and A Sky Close to our House is the most historical of the novels on the list, chronicling the trials and tribulations of families in Amman, Jordan over the second half of the 19th century.

The author: The only woman on the shortlist – controversially – but like Mohamed Rabie, Ujayli has benefited from the Nadwa. 40 this year, she worked on A Sky Close to our House at the workshop.

Guard of the Dead by George Yaraq

The story: Another book dealing with cruelty and tragedy. The protagonist is a Lebanese hospital undertaker who begins to sell the gold teeth he finds in the mouths of his corpses. When Aabir is ­kidnapped, his past life unravels before him.

The author: Like many novelists in the Arab world, Yaraq has spent a long career writing and editing newspapers and cultural magazines – in his case, for Lebanese outlets. It took until 2013 for his first novel, Night, to be published, but Yaraq says he'd been thinking about Guard of the Dead since 1992 – indeed, some of the chapters had already been included in various newspapers. Critical acclaim gave him the confidence to finish it.

The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books

Herc's Adventures

Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.6-litre%2C%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E285hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E353Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh159%2C900%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sweet%20Tooth
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJim%20Mickle%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristian%20Convery%2C%20Nonso%20Anozie%2C%20Adeel%20Akhtar%2C%20Stefania%20LaVie%20Owen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A