I'm so glad to see the adaptation of Haifaa Al Mansour's movie on your list of books--but it's unfortunate that none of the others are by Saudis. Too often, the country gets represented by people from the outside. Reading books by Saudis can give far different perspectives, even compared to someone like Mantel who lived briefly in the country.
Here are a few books by Saudis your listeners/readers might enjoy:
-The Book Smuggler -- historical fiction by Omaima Al-Khamis, translated by Sarah Enany
-The Critical Case of a Man Called K -- workplace satire by Aziz Mohammed, translated by Humphrey Davies
-Wolves of the Crescent Moon -- suspense by Yousef Al-mohaimeed, translated by Anthony Calderbank
-The Dove's Necklace -- murder mystery by Raja Alem, translated by Adam Talib and Katharine Halls
-The Call of Paradise -- poetry, by my friend Majda Gama
I'm so glad to see the adaptation of Haifaa Al Mansour's movie on your list of books--but it's unfortunate that none of the others are by Saudis. Too often, the country gets represented by people from the outside. Reading books by Saudis can give far different perspectives, even compared to someone like Mantel who lived briefly in the country.
Here are a few books by Saudis your listeners/readers might enjoy:
-The Book Smuggler -- historical fiction by Omaima Al-Khamis, translated by Sarah Enany
-The Critical Case of a Man Called K -- workplace satire by Aziz Mohammed, translated by Humphrey Davies
-Wolves of the Crescent Moon -- suspense by Yousef Al-mohaimeed, translated by Anthony Calderbank
-The Dove's Necklace -- murder mystery by Raja Alem, translated by Adam Talib and Katharine Halls
-The Call of Paradise -- poetry, by my friend Majda Gama
-Bride of the Sea -- family saga by ME :)
I wrote about a few of these books and Wadjda, on which The Green Bicycle is based, in this essay: https://www.kwelijournal.org/nonfiction/2022/8/9/we-do-tell-you-the-best-of-stories-islam-in-my-saudi-american-narrative-by-eman-quotah
Thanks so much for sharing!