Valentina Colombo Volgorde van de boeken (chronologisch)

Elke week na het vrijdagavondgebed stuurt een anonieme jonge vrouw een e-mail naar een chatgroep over de belevenissen van Qamra, Sadiem, Lamies en Michelle, vier Saoedische high-societyvriendinnen. In vijftig e-mails volgen we de romantische en seksuele escapades van de vier studentes en zien we hun frustraties en rebellie tegen de soms verstikkende culturele tradities in hun eigen land. De meiden van Riaad werd bij verschijning onmiddellijk verboden in Saoedi-Arabië vanwege het controversiële en ontvlambare karakter ervan, en lezers betalen op de zwarte markt woekerprijzen om het in handen te krijgen. Het verschijnt dit jaar in maar liefst dertien landen.

La raccolta riunisce trentuno racconti, tradotti per la prima volta direttamente dall'arabo, tra cui alcuni inediti anche nei paesi di provenienza, di scrittrici arabe. Racconti talvolta spregiudicati, capaci di affrontare temi come il sesso, l'apostasia, la poligamia, l'attuale situazione irachena in maniera netta, decisa, senza ricorrere allo pseudonimo. Racconti che smentiscono tanti pregiudizi sulle donne arabe e danno voce alle protagoniste: quell'altra metà del cielo imprescindibile per comprendere la sfaccettata realtà del mondo arabo.

Naguib Mahfouz's haunting novella of post-revolutionary Egypt combines a vivid pychological portrait of an anguished man with the suspense and rapid pace of a detective story.After four years in prison, the skilled young thief Said Mahran emerges bent on revenge. He finds a world that has changed in more ways than one. Egypt has undergone a revolution and, on a more personal level, his beloved wife and his trusted henchman, who conspired to betray him to the police, are now married to each other and are keeping his six-year-old daughter from him. But in the most bitter betrayal, his mentor, Rauf Ilwan, once a firebrand revolutionary who convinced Said that stealing from the rich in a unjust society is an act of justice, is now himself a rich man, a respected newspaper editor who wants nothing to do with the disgraced Said. As Said's wild attempts to achieve his idea of justice badly misfire, he becomes a hunted man so driven by hatred that he can only recognize too late his last chance at redemption.