Self-educated and a one-time blacksmith, Tamer is the most prolific living Syrian short-story writer and a master of the compressed, fable-like, often satirical form. Tigers on the Tenth Day (1978) and the dozen subsequent collections have made him one of the most-translated Arab short-fiction writers.
Recurring themes
the very short fable
Syrian dictatorship
the animal as metaphor
classical maqama in modern dress
Selected works
- 1960The Whinnying of the White Horse
- 1963Spring in the Ashes
- 1978Tigers on the Tenth Day
- 1996Why the Silence, River
- 2002Breaking Knees