Summer isn’t over. Here’s our recommended reading list.
It’s that time of year, when all you want to do is lounge by the beach or pool and read. Our team has you covered with their recommended reads related to the Middle East and North Africa for the dog days of summer. We promise you won’t be disappointed.
‘I’jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody’ by Sinan Antoon
I’jaam offers a poignant glimpse into 1980s Iraq under Saddam Hussein through the eyes of a prisoner. As part of the rich tradition of prison literature, it vividly captures Iraqi life under constant surveillance and the resilience of a community striving to escape torture. In this oppressive environment, only writing that “serves the cause of the Leader and the military establishment” is permitted. Thus, writing in defiance of this regime becomes an act of resistance. The imprisoned protagonist—an admirer of the famous Iraqi poet Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri, whose work is considered subversive in Saddam’s Iraq—uses writing as a means of survival.
This intimate portrayal also serves as a crucial window for Western policymakers, providing insight into the lives of those in the region who bear the brunt of their policy decisions. Often treated as collateral damage or mere casualties in the pursuit of a greater good, the populace—be it in Iraq, Gaza, or Sudan—deserves to be better understood to shape policies with human rights in mind.
—Manal Fatima is a program assistant at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative.
‘Killing a King: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel’ by Dan Ephron
In Killing a King, Dan Ephron recounts the two years between the signing of the Oslo Accords in Washington and the murder of Yitzhak Rabin on a Tel Aviv street, juxtaposing the Israeli prime minister’s final acts with those of his murderer, Yigal Amir. Rabin’s murder came at a time of intense internal political debate in Israel over its future relationship with Palestine, feeding into existing divisions and making it a highly consequential moment in the country’s history. This retelling by Ephron helps explain the divisions in Israel that led to that fateful moment and how they linger today.
—David Maloney is the program assistant to the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs.
‘Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books’ by Azar Nafisi
Reading Lolita in Tehran is an intimate and captivating look through Azar Nafisi’s lived experiences of revolutionary Iran, the Iran-Iraq war, the formation of a clandestine book club, and eventual emigration. The memoir also delves into historical reversals, the loss of rights, and the plight of women across the country. Despite receiving its fair share of criticism since its 2003 publication, the book is arguably more relevant today, two years on from the beginning of the Women, Life, Freedom movement, offering readers an account of the early period of the Islamic Republic and the legacy of Iranian women’s struggles to regain the freedoms lost. And for those who love literature, the author—a professor of Western literature—delves deep into some of her favorite writers, including Vladimir Nabokov, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Austen, and Henry James.
—Masoud Mostajabi is a deputy director of the Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council.
‘Syrian Dust: Reporting from the Heart of the War’ by Francesca Borri
A raw and powerful account of the Syrian war by Italian correspondent Francesa Borri, Syrian Dust provides a compelling personal account of events in Aleppo and surrounding areas from the chemical attacks of August 2013 through the following months. Borri hides with dozens of terrified civilians, scavenges to survive, meets with officials, observes the development and fracturing of warring parties, and provides a human lens for an inhumane time. Syrian Dust provides a view from inside the conflict itself—focusing on the human realities for a conflict and region so often discussed from 30,000 feet.
—Emilia Pierce is the deputy director of operation and finance for the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East programs.
‘The Sheltering Sky’ by Paul Bowles
My favorite read this Summer (thus far) has been The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles. While written over seventy years ago, its themes, structure, and language seem surprisingly contemporary. The story follows a young American couple and their third-wheel friend who initially appear to be stereotypical wealthy “travelers, not tourists,” the kind of self-regarding intellectuals that pride themselves on their cultural openness but still disparage any local accommodations that don’t meet their standards. Over time, however, it becomes clear that exploring foreign lands is a convenient way for each to avoid their responsibilities, including to each other, much less confront their underlying alienation. As they travel through French-controlled North Africa—mainly Algeria—moving farther into the continent, their repeated efforts to escape their existence into environments that they don’t understand produces catastrophic results.
—William F. Wechsler is the senior director of the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council.
‘No One Prayed Over Their Graves: A Novel’ by Khaled Khalifa
No One Prayed Over Their Graves was the last novel by Syrian writer and poet Khaled Khalifa before passing away in Damascus in 2023. The author is the Victor Hugo of the Arab World, known for his poignant realism, his vivid depiction of “Les Misérables” of subaltern Syria, and his criticism of the Baathist regime. The novel recounts the story of Christian and Muslim friends, Hanna and Zakariya, from a village near Aleppo in 1907 and how their lives were altered after a massive flood leveled their homes, businesses, and places of worship, and took the lives of their loved ones. The book that was long-listed for the 2023 National Book Award for Translated Literature is also a sweeping tale of religious diversity, coming of age, and class mobility in the hubbub of Aleppine society at the turn of the twentieth century. This novel was a particularly emotional read for me, as Khaled was a personal friend, and a living witness of the socio-political hardships and transformations in modern-day Syria that he immortalized in lush and elastic storytelling in novels like In Praise of Hatred, No Knives in the Kitchens of This City, or Death Is Hard Work.
—Sarah Zaaimi is the deputy director for communications at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs.
Further reading
Thu, Dec 21, 2023
Need a book on the Middle East to read during the holidays? Here’s our recommendations
MENASource By William F. Wechsler, Nadereh Chamlou, Mark N. Katz, Marcy Grossman, Nour Dabboussi, Sarah Zaaimi, Masoud Mostajabi
Our team of experts and staff have you covered with their recommended reads related to the Middle East and North Africa for the holidays.
Fri, Aug 11, 2023
AlDhabi AlMheiri: Meet the nine-year-old driving change in the UAE, one book at a time
MENASource By Holly Dagres
AlDhabi AlMheiri is the youngest Emirati entrepreneur and youngest publisher. The nine-year-old was interviewed by our MENASource editor about her remarkable entrepreneurial journey and achievements.
Thu, Dec 15, 2022
Cultural exchange can foster a peaceful coexistence in the Middle East
MENASource By
Cultural exchange is based on the will of individuals, groups, and nations to reach out to each other and better learn, or re-learn, to live together.
Image: Iranian women are looking at books that are being placed on a street-side, in downtown Tehran, Iran, on June 27, 2024, the day before Iran's 2024 early Presidential elections. Iranians are casting their votes to elect the new President of Iran on June 28. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto)