Reading lists
Curated starter shelves for the reader who has never opened an Arabic novel — and for the reader who has read everything Mahfouz wrote and wants to know where to go next.
10 Essential Arabic Novels in Translation
Where to start if you have never read Arabic fiction in English.
Reading List · 12 titlesArab Women Writers: A Starter Reading List
Twelve novels and collections that will give you a real sense of women's writing in Arabic.
Reading List · 8 titlesPalestinian Voices: A Starter Reading List
Eight books that will introduce you to the central body of Palestinian literature.
Reading List · 6 titlesClassical Arabic Poetry: Where to Begin
Six entry points to a thirteen-hundred-year tradition.
Reading List · 6 titlesIraqi Literature After the War
Six post-2003 books that map the Iraqi literary diaspora.
Reading List · 8 titlesEgyptian Fiction Beyond Mahfouz
Eight novels by the writers who came after — and around — Naguib Mahfouz.
Reading List · 6 titlesNew Saudi & Gulf Voices
Six books from the rising Gulf novelistic tradition.
Reading List · 5 titlesArabic Prison Literature
Five books from one of the most morally serious sub-genres in modern Arabic.
Reading List · 5 titlesFive Arabic Novellas to Read in One Sitting
Short, dense, perfect: novellas you can finish in an evening and remember for years.
Reading List · 5 titlesAn Introduction to Sufi Poetry
Five places to begin in the long mystical tradition.