A Reader of Modern Arabic Short Stories

This reader consists of the full Arabic texts of eleven short stories by established Egyptian, Iraqi, Syrian and Jordanian writers. The earliest story, written in 1929, is by the Egyptian Mahmud Tahir Lashin; and the most recent, written in 1972, is by the Iraqi writer, Fu'ad Al-Takarli. Each story is supplemented by an introduction, with biographical information about the author, placing him in his literary context; a description of the contents; and a brief analysis of the story itself, in English. Ideal for students of Arabic language and literature, the aim of this collection is to encourage a literary appreciation of modern Arabic texts and an understanding of some of the cultural conflicts reflected in the writings. Writers included are Ghalib Halasa, Yahya Haqqi, Yusuf Idris, Idwar El Kharrat and Zakariyya Tamir.



Sabry Hafez is Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at Qatar University. His publications include The Genesis of Arabic Discourse and The Quest for Identities (selected by Choice magazine as one of the outstanding academic titles of 2009), both by Saqi Books. Catherine Cobham is a lecturer in Arabic and Middle East Studies at the University of St Andrews. She has translated the works of Adonis, Nagib Mahfuz, Mahmoud Darwish, Hanan al-Shaykh and Fu'ad Al-Takarli, amongst others.



Contents Preface 7 1 Shams SaghDra by Zakariyya TAmir 11 2 Al-KhuOUba by BahA' OAhir 23 3 Al-QayU by YUsuf Al-ShArUnD 45 4 Al-BashYa by GhAlib HalasA 56 5 FD'l-Qarya by MaImUd Al-BadawD 78 6 Al-TannUr by Fu'Ad Al-TakarlD 102 7 Bayt min LaIm by YUsuf IdrDs 113 8 IadDth Al-Qarya by MaImUd OAhir LAshDn 127 9 ImraYa MiskDna by YaIyA IaqqD 143 10 IikAyAt Iawla IAdith NaghDr by YAbd Al-IakDm QAsim 165 11 JurI MaftUI by IdwAr Al-KharrAO 195