Arabic

This gripping, comi-tragic fictional-factual saga takes place in the environs of Jerusalem, from late Ottoman times to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. With the colorful strokes of his pen, Ibrahim Nasrallah paints a vivid picture of Palestinian villagers' preoccupations and aspirations-their ties to their land, to their animals, and to one another. Through the experiences of Hajj Mahmud, chief elder of al-Hadiya, his son Khalid and his beloved steed al-Hamama, and other memorable characters ranging from the heroic to the villainous, we relive the realities of the Palestinian village in the early twentieth century, Zionist colonization and its impact on Arab rural life, the trauma that accompanied the British mandate and its aftermath, the Palestinians' struggle to maintain the autonomy and dignity they had known for centuries on end, and the beginnings of life under the Zionist state.

أن سيفان سيفك صوتان صوتك أنك إن متَ للبيت رب وللطفل أب هل يصير دمى -بين عينيك- ماء؟ أتنسى ردائى الملطخ.. تلبس -فوق دمائى- ثياباً مطرزة بالقصب؟ إنها الحرب قد تثقل القلب.. لكن خلفك عار العرب لا تصالح.. ولا تتوخَ الهرب! لا تصالح على الدم.. حتى بدم! لا تصالح! ولو قيل رأس برأس أكل الرؤوس سواء؟ أقلب الغريب كقلب أخيك؟! أعيناه عينا أخيك؟ وهل تساوى يد... سيفها كان لك بيد سيفها أثكلك؟ جئناك كى تحقن الدم.. جئناك. كن يا أمير- الحكم سيقولون ها نحن أبناء عم قل لهم إنهم لم يراعوا العمومة فيمن هلك وأغرس السيف فى جبهة الصحراء.. إلى أن يجيب العدم. إننى كنت لك. فارساً وأخاً أباَ وملك!

This collection of important stories by novelist, journalist, teacher, and Palestinian activist Ghassan Kanafani includes the stunning novella Men in the Sun (1962), the basis of the The Deceived. Also in the volume are "The Land of Sad Oranges" (1958), "'If You Were a Horse...'" (1961), "A Hand in the Grave" (1962), "The Falcon" (1961), "Letter from Gaza" (1956), and an excerpt from Umm Saad (1969). In the unsparing clarity of his writing, Kanafani offers the reader a gritty look at the agonized world of Palestine and the adjoining Middle East. Born in Acre (northern Palestine) in 1936, Ghassan Kanafani was a major spokesman for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and founding editor of its weekly magazin Al-Hadaf. His novels, short stories, and plays have been published in sixteen languages. He was killed in a car-bomb explosion in Beirut in 1972.

"The Harafish begins with the tale of Ashur al-Nagi, a man who grows from humble beginnings to become a great leader, a legend among his people. Generation after generation, however, Ashur's descendants grow further from his legendary example. They lose touch with their origins as they amass and then squander large fortunes, marry prostitutes when they marry at all, and develop rivalries that end in death. The community's upper class keeps a watchful eye on the descendants of al-Nagi for fear of losing their privileges, but they find no threat of another such as Ashur. Not, that is, until the al-Nagi who, like his noble ancestor, finds his power once again from among "The Harafish," or the common people. Through the strength of their numbers and their passion, the glory of the name of al-Nagi is restored.

This powerful and poetic novel by "Egypt's most interesting feminist" ( Booklist ) raises awareness of the predicament of women in Egypt. The book tells the story of Bint Allah, a beautiful illegitimate girl, whose father is the Imam—the religious ruler in Islamic society believed to be representative of God. Bint Allah is falsely accused by the Imam of adulterous relationships, then sentenced to death by stoning. It is through the eyes of Bint Allah that one can see the underlying hypocrisy of a male-dominated religious state.