Search results for ""Saqi Books""
Saqi Books Virginia Woolf in Manhattan
What if Virginia Woolf came back to life in the twenty-first century?Bestselling author Angela Lamb is going through a mid-life crisis. She dumps her irrepressible daughter Gerda at boarding school and flies to New York to pursue her passion for Woolf, whose manuscripts are held in a private collection. When a bedraggled Virginia Woolf materialises among the bookshelves and is promptly evicted, Angela, stunned, rushes after her on to the streets of Manhattan. Soon Angela is chaperoning her troublesome heroine as the latter tries to grasp the internet and scams bookshops with 'rare signed editions'. Then Virginia insists on flying with her to Istanbul, finds a Turkish admirer and steals the show at an International Conference on - Virginia Woolf. Virginia Woolf in Manhattan is a witty and profound novel about the miraculous possibilities of a second chance at life.
£9.67
Saqi Books Three Sisters
WINNER OF THE 2010 MAN ASIAN LITERARY PRIZE Three sisters struggle to change the course of their destinies in a China that does not belong to them. Yumi uses her dignity, Yuxiu her seductive charms, and Yuyang her desire for success. This breathtaking story vividly captures the all-consuming desire for power in a society obsessed with saving face. Whether it's in the Wang family village, where lift is attuned to the rhythm of work and the slogans of the Cultural Revolution, or in urban China of the 1980s, the sisters are not prepared to be just another wave in the 'infinite ocean of people'.
£10.45
Saqi Books Egyptian Earth
A twelve-year old boy returns to his village from school in Cairo to find the community torn by feud and fear. Working together, the young, old, men and women in the village discover that despite high rents, low wages, a greedy ruling-class, and attractive distractions, if you are faithful to the land, it will care for you. Egyptian Earth is an epic drama of great power. This compassionate and humorous tale of defiance is a masterpiece of modern Arabic literature.
£11.24
Saqi Books Across The Green Sea
A history of two centuries of interactions among the areas bordering the western Indian Ocean, including India, Iran and Africa.
£45.00
Saqi Books Memoirs of a Woman Doctor
A young Egyptian woman clashes with her traditional family when she chooses a career in medicine. Rather than submit to an arranged marriage and motherhood, she cuts her hair short and works fiercely to realise her dreams. At medical school, she begins to understand the mysteries of the human body. After years of denying her own desires, the doctor begins a series of love affairs that allow her to explore her sexuality - on her own terms.
£11.24
Saqi Books Morbid Symptoms: Relapse in the Arab Uprising
Since the first wave of uprisings in 2011, the euphoria of the "Arab Spring" has given way to the gloom of backlash and a descent into mayhem and war. The revolution has been overwhelmed by clashes between rival counter-revolutionary forces: resilient old regimes on the one hand and Islamic fundamentalist contenders on the other.In this eagerly awaited book, foremost Middle East and international affairs specialist Gilbert Achcar analyzes the factors of the regional relapse. Focusing on Syria and Egypt, Achcar assesses the present stage of the uprising and the main obstacles, both regional and international, that prevent any resolution. In Syria, the regime's brutality has fostered the rise of jihadist forces, among which the so-called Islamic State emerged as the most ruthless and powerful. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood's year in power was ultimately terminated by the contradictory conjunction of a second revolutionary wave and a bloody reactionary coup. Events in Syria and Egypt offer salient examples of a pattern of events happening across the Middle East.Morbid Symptoms offers a timely analysis of the ongoing Arab uprising that will engage experts and general readers alike.Drawing on a unique combination of scholarly and political knowledge of the Arab region, Achcar argues that, short of radical social change, the region will not reach stability any time soon.
£13.60
Saqi Books Outspoken
Sima Samar has been fighting for justice all her life. Born into a polygamous family, Samar agreed to an arranged marriage to continue her own education. Once she had qualified as a doctor, she took off into rural areas on horse, donkey, even on foot to treat people who had never received medical help before. As the situation worsened, Samar found herself working in increasingly adverse circumstances, and in grave personal danger.After Samar's husband was disappeared by the regime, she faced a choice: to accept the injustices she saw around her or to keep driving for a better Afghanistan. From selling her own hand embroidered bed quilt to pay for her degree, to becoming Vice President in an office with no heating and only beach chairs, Samar has worked tirelessly for human rights in Afghanistan the worst country in the world to be a woman.In Outspoken, Samar writes unapologetically and unflinchingly about the colossal internal and international political failures th
£16.99
Saqi Books Modern Arabic Short Stories: A Bilingual Reader
The twelve stories collected here are by leading authors of the short story form in the Middle East today. In addition to works by writers already well-known in the West such as "Idwar al-Kharrat", "Fuad al-Takarli" and Nobel Prize-winning "Naguib Mahfouz", the collection includes stories by key authors whose fame has hitherto been restricted to the Middle East. This bilingual reader is ideal for students of Arabic as well as lovers of literature who wish to broaden their appreciation of the work of Middle Eastern writers. The collection features stories in the original Arabic, accompanied by an English translation and a brief author biography, as well as a discussion of context and background. Each story is followed by a glossary and discussion of problematic language points.
£16.17
Saqi Books We Wrote in Symbols: Love and Lust by Arab Women Writers
It is a little-known secret that Arabic literature has a long tradition of erotic writing. Behind that secret lies another - that many of the writers are women. We Wrote in Symbols celebrates the works of 75 of these female writers of Arab heritage who articulate love and lust with artistry and skill. Here, a wedding night takes an unexpected turn beneath a canopy of stars; a woman on the run meets her match in a flirtatious encounter at Dubai Airport; and a carnal awakening occurs in a Palestinian refugee camp. From a masked rendezvous in a circus, to meetings in underground bars and unmade beds, there is no such thing as a typical sexual encounter, as this electrifying anthology shows. Powerfully conveying the complexities and intrigues of desire, We Wrote in Symbols invites you to share these characters' wildest fantasies and most intimate moments.
£16.60
Saqi Books The Century of Deception: The Birth of the Hoax in the Eighteenth Century
In 1749, a newspaper advertisement appeared declaring that a man would climb inside a bottle on the stage of a London theatre. Although the crowds turned up in their hundreds to witness the trick, the performer didn't. Over the following decades, elaborate jokes and fanciful tales would continue to bamboozle people across England. In The Century of Deception, magician and historian Ian Keable tells the engrossing stories of these eighteenth-century hoaxes and those who were duped by them. The English public were hoodwinked time and time again, swallowing whole tales of rapping ghosts, a woman who gave birth to rabbits, a levitating Frenchman in a Chinese Temple and outrageous astrological predictions. Not only were the hoaxes widely influential, drawing in celebrities such as Samuel Johnson, Benjamin Franklin and Jonathan Swift, they also inflamed concerns about 'English credulity'.
£20.00
Saqi Books The Last Prince of Bengal: A Family's Journey from an Indian Palace to the Australian Outback
The Nawab Nazim was born into one of India's most powerful royal families. Three times the size of Great Britain, his kingdom ranged from the soaring Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. However, in 1880, he was forced to abdicate by the British authorities, who saw him as a threat and permanently abolished his titles. The Nawab's change in fortune marked the end of an era in India and left his secret English family abandoned. The Last Prince of Bengal tells the true story of the Nawab Nazim, his wife and their descendants, as they sought by turns to befriend, settle in and eventually escape Britain. From glamourous receptions with Queen Victoria to a scandalous Muslim marriage with an English chambermaid; from Bengal tiger hunts to sheep farming in the harsh Australian outback, Lyn Innes recounts her ancestors' extraordinary journey from royalty to relative anonymity. Exposing complex prejudices regarding race, class and gender, this riveting account visits the extremes of British rule in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is also the intimate story of one family and their place in defining moments of recent Indian, British and Australian history.
£20.00
Saqi Books Dance of the Jakaranda
1963. Kenya is on the verge of independence from British colonial rule. In the Great Rift Valley, Kenyans of all backgrounds come together in the previously white-only establishment of the Jakaranda Hotel. The resident musician is Rajan Salim, who charms visitors with songs inspired by his grandfather's noble stories of the railway construction that spawned the Kenya they now know. One evening, Rajan is kissed by a mysterious woman in a shadowy corridor. Unable to forget the taste of her lavender-flavoured lips, Rajan sets out to find her. On his journey he stumbles upon the murky, shared history of three men - his grandfather, the owner of the Jakaranda and a British preacher - who were implicated in the controversial birth of a child. What Rajan unearths will open his eyes about the birth not just of a child, but of an entire nation.
£10.45
Saqi Books Midnight in Cairo: The Female Stars of Egypt's Roaring '20s
1920s Cairo: singers were pressing hit records, dramatic troupes were springing up and cabarets were packed - a counterculture was on the rise. In bars, hash-dens and music halls, people of all backgrounds came together as a passionate group of artists captivated Egyptian society. Of these performers, Cairo's biggest stars were female, and they asserted themselves on the stage like never before. Two of the most famous troupes were run by women; Badia Masabni's dancehall became the hottest nightspot in town; pioneer of Egyptian cinema Aziza Amir made her stage debut; and legendary singer Oum Kalthoum first rose to fame. It is these women, who knew both the opportunities and prejudices that this world offered, who best reveal this cosmopolitan and raucous city's secrets. Midnight in Cairo tells the thrilling story of Egypt's interwar nightlife and entertainment industry through the lives of its pioneering women. Introducing an eccentric cast of characters, it brings to life a world of revolutionary ideas and provocative art - one which laid the foundations of Arab popular culture today. It is a story of modern Cairo as we have never heard it before.
£12.02
Saqi Books My End is My Beginning
Civilisation is on the brink of collapse. The people are controlled with Big Lies, mass surveillance and brutal suppression. What price would you pay for freedom? Oric and his lover Belkis are part of a rebel band devoted to liberating people all over the world from totalitarian oppression. When Belkis is brutally murdered, Oric's world is torn apart. Haunted by the thought that he could have done more to save her, he continues the fight for freedom that they began together. But Oric knows he doesn't have long left before his nemeses, the self-professed Saviours, return for him too. As the Saviours forge new alliances and grow ever stronger, Oric must stay one step ahead to complete the mission he was born to fulfill. Here, in the darkest hour, Oric will discover that even the smallest of gestures can bring the greatest gift to humankind - hope.
£13.53
Saqi Books Colour Light and Wonder in Islamic Art
£25.00
Saqi Books Walking on Thin Air: A Life’s Journey in 99 Steps
Geoff Nicholson has been walking his whole life. Wherever he is and wherever he goes in the world, he walks and writes about what he sees and feels. Here he reflects on the nature of walking, why we do it, how it benefits us and, in some cases, how it can damage and even destroy us. His recent diagnosis with a rare, incurable form of cancer has made him all too aware of his own mortality. Sooner or later there will be a last step, a last excursion, a final drift, for him just as there will be for all of us. Geoff vows to continue to walk for as long as he can. This moving, vital book describes his own walks and relates them to the walks of street photographers, artists and writers, such as Garry Winogrand, Diane Arbus, Sophie Calle, Jorge Luis Borges and Virginia Woolf, among many others. Walking on Thin Air is a book about mortality and, above all, a celebration of being alive.
£13.60
Saqi Books The Dramatic Literature of Nawal El Saadawi
In Nawal El Saadawi's play "God Resigns", the prophets and great women gather for a meeting with God. Satan arrives to tender his resignation, but neither Jesus, Mohammad, nor Moses is willing to replace him. Finally, God himself resigns in disgust. Eygptian officials declared the work heretical because 'God cannot resign' and ordered her publisher to destroy all copies. El Saadawi was charged with insulting Islam and was threatened with arrest on return to Egypt. "Isis" is a critique of the discriminatory rules that control women - the daughters of Isis - in North Africa and the Middle East today. Both plays develop key themes of El Saadawi's work: that religions are inimical to women and the poor; that the oppression of women is reprehensible and not solely characteristic of the Middle East or the Third World; and that free speech is fundamental to any society. This work includes introduction by Adele Newson-Horst, along with introductions to both plays.
£13.15
Saqi Books The Red Children
It's the 2030s in Ramsgate and four people who don't look quite human are found sitting, naked, in the early spring sunlight on the quay of a quiet south coast resort. The locals are puzzled - the newcomers are larger and heavier than them and say they are fleeing the heat. Soon more arrive; their tall red-haired leader, The Professor, talks to the universe. The locals talk among themselves. Red people appear everywhere, making friends, going into the caves, liked by some but accused of bringing infection by others. Two rivalrous brothers, Liam and Joe, take different sides as one joins a notorious hard-right group. Their teacher Monica is the first to warn there'll be trouble - and she's right, there is, but there is also a great Midsummer Festival, laughter and love. Set in a world in crisis, this original, gripping fable about migration and global warming restores belief in the power of human kindness.
£15.17
Saqi Books Metropole
A linguist flying to a conference in Helsinki has landed in a strange city where he can't understand a word anyone says. As one claustrophobic day follows another, he wonders why no one has found him yet, whether his wife has given him up for dead, and how he'll get by in this society that looks so familiar, yet is so strange. In a vision of hell, unlike any previously imagined, Budai must learn to survive in a world where words and meaning are unconnected. This is a suspenseful and haunting Hungarian classic.
£10.45
Saqi Books Don't Panic, I'm Islamic: How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Alien Next Door
A Sunday Times Best Humour Book of the Year 2017 How can you tell if your neighbour is speaking Muslim? Is a mosque a kind of hedgehog? Can I get fries with that burka? You can't trust the media any longer, but there's no need to fret: Don't Panic, I'm Islamic: Words and Pictures on How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Alien Next Door provides you with the answers. Read this book to learn how you too can spot an elusive Islamist. Discover how Arabs (even 21-year-old, largely innocuous and totally adorable ones) plant bombs and get tips about how to interact with Homeland Security, which may or may not involve funny discussions about your sexuality. Commissioned in response to the US travel ban, Don't Panic, I'm Islamic includes cartoons, graffiti, photography, colouring in pages, memoir, short stories and more by 34 contributors from around the world. Provocative and at times laugh-out-loud funny, these subversive pieces are an explosion of expression, creativity and colour. Contributors: Hassan Abdulrazzak, Leila Aboulela, Amrou Al-Kadhi, Shadi Alzaqzouq, Chant Avedissian, Tammam Azzam, Bidisha, Chaza Charafeddine, Molly Crabapple, Carol Ann Duffy, Moris Farhi, Negin Farsad, Joumana Haddad, Saleem Haddad, Hassan Hajjaj, Omar Hamdi, Jennifer Jajeh, Sayed Kashua, Mazen Kerbaj, Arwa Mahdawi, Sabrina Mahfouz, Alberto Manguel, Esther Manito, Aisha Mirza, James Nunn, Chris Riddell, Hazem Saghieh, Rana Salam, Karl Sharro, Laila Shawa, Bahia Shehab, Sjon, Eli Valley, Alex Wheatle.
£13.60
Saqi Books Sea of Troubles: The European Conquest of the Islamic Mediterranean and the Origins of the First World War
In the mid-eighteenth century, most of the Mediterranean coastline and its hinterlands were controlled by the Ottoman Empire, a vast Islamic power regarded by Christian Europe with awe and fear. By the end of the First World War, however, this great civilisation had been completely subjugated, and its territories occupied by European powers. Sea of Troubles is the definitive account of the European conquest of the Levant and North Africa over three centuries. Ian Rutledge reveals the intense imperial rivalry between six European powers - Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Austria-Hungary and Russia - who all jostled for control of the trade, lands and wealth of the Islamic Mediterranean. The competition between these states made their conquest a far more difficult and extended task than they encountered elsewhere in the world. Yet, as new contenders entered the contest, and as rivalries intensified in the early twentieth century, events would spiral out of control as the continent headed towards the First World War.
£25.00
Saqi Books A Mouth Full of Salt
A Mouth Full of Salt uncovers a country on the brink of seismic change as its women decide for themselves which traditions are fit for purposeand which prophecies itâs time to rewrite.
£15.17
Saqi Books The Calligrapher's Garden
Hassan Massoudy's elegant calligraphy depicts the four seasons of the garden. From the icy palettes of winter and the fading hues of autumn to delicate spring growth and the dazzling sunshine and blooms of summer, he captures in calligraphy what countless poets have wrought with words. Massoudy draws his seasonal inspirations from writers and artists, including Kahlil Gibran, Henri Matisse, Lao Tzu, William Blake and Victor Hugo, as well as from Hungarian, Spanish, Turkish and Japanese proverbs.
£11.25
Saqi Books The Birds Journey to Mount Qaf
Based on the masterful twelfth-century Sufi poem, "The Conference of the Birds", this enchanting poem is accompanied by original illustrations painted on ceramic tiles, typical of the Medieval Persian style.
£18.62
Saqi Books Winds of Change: The Challenge of Modernity in the Middle East and North Africa
Recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa have radically destabilised the region, which is beset with rising religious and political tensions, sectarian conflict and terrorism. Though in crisis and suffering from a paralysis of will, the region is also vastly rich in culture, and vital for the stability of the international order. There is an urgent need for an accurate understanding of these complex developments. What does the future hold for this geopolitically critical region? In this vital multidisciplinary volume, leading Middle Eastern and Western scholars present constructive, long-term solutions to endemic socio-cultural, economic and political issues facing the MENA region - issues which require a fundamental transformation of the current system of values and patterns of thought. They offer expert analysis on critical facets of the region, including globalisation, the environment and sustainability, education, nonviolence, human rights, inter-religious coexistence, Islamic social principles, and Qur'anic ethics. Enriching our understanding of the contemporary affairs of the MENA region, Winds of Change is essential reading for achieving peace, socio-cultural progress and prosperity in the region.
£25.00
Saqi Books The Lady from Tel Aviv
WINNER OF THE ENGLISH PEN AWARD Walid Dahman is going home. Returning to Gaza after nearly four decades in exile, he looks forward to embracing his mother and reconnecting with the people and place he once left behind. Boarding the flight from London, Walid's life intersects with that of Dana, an Israeli actress, on her way back to Tel Aviv. As the night sky hurtles past, what each confides and conceals will expose the chasm between them in the land they both call home. The Lady from Tel Aviv a powerful and poetic story of love, loss and belonging.
£11.24
Saqi Books Dubrovnik: A History
Since emerging as a settlement in the seventh century, Dubrovnik held a significant position beyond what could have been expected of this tiny city-state. Its merchants, trading throughout the huge Ottoman Empire, enjoyed privileges denied to other Western states. A politically skilled and commercially enterprising ruling class took every opportunity to maximise the Republic's wealth. Dubrovnik also faced the extreme dangers posed by Venetian aggressors, Ottoman plotters, a terrible earthquake in 1667 and, finally, the will of Napoleon. In 1991-92, the city survived the besieging Yugoslav army, which heavily damaged but did not destroy Dubrovnik's cultural heritage. This book is a comprehensive history of Dubrovnik's progress over twelve centuries of European development, encompassing arts, architecture, social and economic changes and the traumas of war and politics.
£24.40
Saqi Books Yemen In Crisis: Devastating Conflict, Fragile Hope
The democratic promise of Yemen's 2011 uprising quickly unravelled, triggering a shocking political and social crisis with serious implications for the future of the country and region. Fuelled by Arab and Western intervention, the infighting in Yemen descended into civil war, with hundreds of thousands of Yemenis killed, and millions facing starvation and deep social and political fragmentation. The people of Yemen face a desperate choice between the Huthi rebels on the one side and, on the other, a range of forces propped up by a Saudi-led coalition using Western arms. In her incisive, invaluable analysis, Helen Lackner uncovers the roots of the conflicts threatening the survival of the Yemeni state and its people. This fully updated edition features a new chapter on the problems of humanitarian aid in the country.
£13.60
Saqi Books Calligraphies of the Desert
Celebrated master calligrapher Hassan Massoudy carries the desert within him. Through majestic, sweeping strokes, he depicts its breath-taking beauty and wonder. Massoudy draws inspiration from the words and wisdom of some of our greatest poets and writers - Rumi, Paul Bowles, Goethe, Baudelaire, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Khalil Gibran - who have lost themselves in the mysteries of the desert. Beautifully illustrated, Calligraphies of the Desert offers inspiration for meditation. Speaking to the senses, it is a treasure for travellers, poets and dreamers.
£11.25
Saqi Books Two Women in One
Bahiah Shaheen, an eighteen-year-old medical student and the daughter of a prominent Egyptian public official, finds the male students in her class coarse and alien. Her father, too, seems to belong to a race apart. Frustrated by her hard-working, well-behaved, middle-class public persona, her meeting with a stranger at a gallery one day proves to be the beginning of her road to self-discovery and the start of her realisation that fulfilment in life is indeed possible.
£11.24
Saqi Books After Zionism: One State for Israel and Palestine
After Zionism brings together some of the world’s leading thinkers on the Middle East question. In thought-provoking essays, the contributors dissect the century-long conflict between Zionism and the Palestinians, and explore possible forms of a one-state solution in the most conflicted part of the world. Time has run out for the two-state solution because of the unending and permanent Israeli colonisation of Palestinian land. The Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 and Israel’s subsequent devastation of Gaza have given renewed urgency to the discussion of how to move towards a future that honours the rights of all who live in Palestine and Israel. This timely edition includes a new preface as well as challenging and insightful essays by Omar Barghouti, Jonathan Cook, Joseph Dana, Jeremiah Haber, Jeff Halper, Ghada Karmi, Saree Makdisi, John Mearsheimer, Ilan Pappe, Sara Roy and Phil Weiss.
£13.60
Saqi Books Discretion
Yamina Taleb is approaching her seventieth birthday. Not that she's sure exactly when to celebrate it, since her Algerian identity papers state a different date of birth to her French ones. These days, Yamina strives for a quiet life and to be, at best, invisible. The closest she gets to drama is flashing her pensioner's bus pass in the style of police officers she's seen on television or scooping 'revolutionary' bargains in the form of plastic kitchenware gadgets. But Yamina's children feel differently. They are made to feel out of place in Paris, and it hurts. Then, for the first time in forty years, the whole family take a holiday from the city - not a return trip to the motherland, but a holiday in France. In the privacy of their villa-with-pool rental, it becomes clear to them all: there is no 'going back'. Alternating fragments from Yamina's Algerian past with those of her Paris present, Discretion spans the history of colonial conflict from the Second World War to the present day. A tribute to mothers everywhere, it is also the story of a modern French family feeling their way through the puzzle of their history - and finding one another as they go along.
£13.60
Saqi Books The Last Prince of Bengal: A Family's Journey from an Indian Palace to the Australian Outback
The Nawab Nazim was born into one of India's most powerful royal families. Three times the size of Great Britain, his kingdom ranged from the soaring Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. However, in 1880, he was forced to abdicate by the British authorities, who saw him as a threat and permanently abolished his titles. The Nawab's change in fortune marked the end of an era in India and left his secret English family abandoned. The Last Prince of Bengal tells the true story of the Nawab Nazim and his family as they sought by turns to befriend, settle in and eventually escape Britain. From glamourous receptions with Queen Victoria to a scandalous Muslim marriage with an English chambermaid; and from Bengal tiger hunts to sheep farming in the harsh Australian outback, Lyn Innes recounts her ancestors' extraordinary journey from royalty to relative anonymity. This compelling account visits the extremes of British rule in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, exposing complex prejudices regarding race, class and gender. It is the intimate story of one family and their place in defining moments of recent Indian, British and Australian history.
£12.02
Saqi Books Jamilia
Jamilia's husband is off fighting at the front. She spends her days hauling sacks of grain from the threshing floor to the train station in their small village in the Caucasus, accompanied by Seit, her young brother-in-law, and Daniyar, a sullen newcomer to the village who has been wounded on the battlefield. Seit observes the beautiful, spirited Jamilia spurn men's advances, and wince at the dispassionate letters she receives from her husband. Meanwhile, undeterred by Jamilia's teasing, Daniyar sings as they return each evening from the fields. Soon Jamilia is in love, and she and Daniyar elope just as her husband returns.
£9.67
Saqi Books This Arab Is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers
This ground-breaking anthology features the compelling and courageous memoirs of eighteen queer Arab writers - some internationally bestselling, others using pseudonyms. heart-warming connections and moments of celebration sit alongside essays exploring the challenges of being LGBTQ+ and Arab. From a military base in the Gulf to loving whispers caught between the bedsheets; from touring overseas as a drag queen to a concert in Cairo where a crowd of thousands greet the rainbow flag, this collection celebrates the true colours of a vibrant Arab queer experience.
£15.17
Saqi Books Arabia without Sultans
Fred Halliday writes: 'The Arab Middle East is the one with the longest history of contact with the west; yet it is probably the one least understood. Part of the misunderstanding is due to the romantic mythology that has long appeared to shroud the deserts of the peninsula. Where old myths have broken down, new ones have absorbed them or taken their place. Now the Sheikh of Arabia has stepped down from his camel. Instead, through the delusive lens of the "energy crisis" he is seen to be riding a Cadillac and squeezing the powerless Western consumer of oil.' First published in the 1970s, "Arabia Without Sultans" retains its validity for the present as it analyses the Arabian peninsula and Iran within the global context of western post-colonial strategy and the political economy of oil. Halliday offers a thorough study of the history, the politics and the economics of this region in an ambitious, encompassing and entertaining manner.
£18.58
Saqi Books Classical Poems by Arab Women: A Bilingual Anthology
Arab women poets have been around since the earliest of times, yet their diwans (collected poems) were not given the same consideration as their male counterparts'. Spanning 5,000 years, from the pre-Islamic to the Andalusian periods, Classical Poems by Arab Women presents rarely seen work by over fifty women writers for the first time. From the sorrowful eulogies of Khansa to the gleeful scorn of Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, this collection exclusively features the work of Arab women who boldly refused to be silenced. The poems are excursions into their vibrant world whose humanity has been suppressed for centuries by religious and political bigotry. With poems in both English and Arabic, this remarkable anthology celebrates feminine wit and desire, and shows the significant contribution Arab women made to the literary tradition.
£15.74
Saqi Books The White Family
Alfred White, a London park-keeper, rules his home with a mixture of ferocity and tenderness that has estranged his three children. But family ties are strong, and when Alfred collapses on duty one day, they rush to be with him. His daughter's partner, Elroy, a black social worker, is brought face to face with Alfred's younger son Dirk, who hates and fears all black people. The scene is set for violence, and Alfred's wife May is forced to choose between justice and kinship. This ground-breaking novel tackles the taboo subject of racial hatred, as it looks for the roots of violence within one British family.
£11.24
Saqi Books The Geneva Option
Yael Azoulay does the United Nations' dirty work. From the caves of Afghanistan and the slums of Baghdad to the world's corporate boardrooms, Yael's job is to broker the secret deals that grease the wheels of superpower diplomacy and big business. When a suspicious death at the UN headquarters in Manhattan is covered up, Yael decides that the ends no longer justify the means and she goes rogue. Events quickly spiral out of control as Yael is forced on the run in the streets of New York and Geneva. Hunted by the world's intelligence and law enforcement agencies, Yael must ultimately learn that salvation means not just saving other's lives but slaying her own inner demons. A gripping journey through the secret corridors of power.
£9.67
Saqi Books River Spirit
This spellbinding new novel from New York Times Notable Author Leila Aboulela tells the unforgettable story of an embattled young woman's coming of age during the revolutionary war in nineteenth-century Sudan.
£11.24
Saqi Books Kalakuta Republic: A Book of Poetry
This powerful collection of poems details the harrowing experiences endured by Abani and other political prisoners at the hands of Nigeria's military regime in the late 1980s. Abani vividly describes the characters that peopled this dark world, from prison inmates such as John James, tortured to death at the age of fourteen, to the general overseers. First published after his release from jail in 1991, Kalakuta Republic remains a paean to those who suffered and to the indomitable human spirit.
£9.67
Saqi Books Midnight in Cairo: The Female Stars of Egypt's Roaring `20s
1920s Cairo: singers were pressing hit records, dramatic troupes were springing up and cabarets were packed - a counterculture was on the rise. In bars, hash-dens and music halls, people of all backgrounds came together as a passionate group of artists captivated Egyptian society. Of these performers, Cairo's biggest stars were female, and they asserted themselves on the stage like never before. Two of the most famous troupes were run by women; Badia Masabni's dancehall became the hottest nightspot in town; pioneer of Egyptian cinema Aziza Amir made her stage debut; and legendary singer Oum Kalthoum first rose to fame. It is these women, who knew both the opportunities and prejudices that this world offered, who best reveal this cosmopolitan and raucous city's secrets. Midnight in Cairo tells the thrilling story of Egypt's interwar nightlife and entertainment industry through the lives of its pioneering women. Introducing an eccentric cast of characters, it brings to life a world of revolutionary ideas and provocative art - one which laid the foundations of Arab popular culture today. It is a story of modern Cairo as we have never heard it before.
£20.00
Saqi Books Rise: Extraordinary Women of Colour who Changed the World
Rise celebrates the inspirational stories of 100 remarkable women of colour. From the entrepreneur with a homemade marmalade business who went on to found Women's World Banking, to the educator who built the first university in the world; and from the athlete who fled civil war on a sinking boat and then swam in the Olympics, to the first Black female astronaut, these trailblazers have risen above challenges to reach dizzying heights. These scientists, entertainers, sportswomen, artists and activists hail from more than forty countries. Past and present, famous and forgotten, they have worked both behind the scenes and under public scrutiny to make our world a better place. Featuring stunning portrait illustrations by noted artist Maliha Abidi, Rise reveals the creativity and courage of these pioneers, and is essential for all.
£20.00
Saqi Books The Belt: A Novel
Ahmed grows up in a small Saudi village steeped in traditional tribal culture, local legends, family ties, history, and tribal songs. As he becomes a man, the cataclysmic changes of modernity spring up around him. Islam is imposing itself more and more strongly on tribal beliefs; moreover, the city begins to seem strangely attractive to his young mind. Ahmed struggles to come to terms with this newly unfolding world without forsaking his village, family or Hizam, the old man who comes to epitomise the traditional life itself.
£9.67
Saqi Books C+NTO: & Othered Poems
WINNER OF THE T S ELIOT PRIZE 2021. The female body is a political space. C+nto enters the private lives of women from the butch counterculture, telling the inside story of the protests they led in the '90s to reclaim their bodies as their own - their difficult balance between survival and self-expression. History, magic, rebellion, party and sermon vibrate through Joelle Taylor's cantos to uncover these underground communities forged by women. Part-memoir and part-conjecture, Taylor explores sexuality and gender in poetry that is lyrical, expansive, imagistic, epic and intimate. C+nto is a love poem, a riot, a late night, and an honouring.
£13.07
Saqi Books Diary of a Country Prosecutor
Who shot Kamar al-Dawla Alwan? Was it a crime of passion? What was the role of the beautiful peasant girl Rim? Is the mysterious Sheikh Asfur as crazy as he seems? Diary of a Country Prosecutor is an Egyptian comedy of errors. Partly autobiographical, it takes the form of a journal of a young public prosecutor posted to a village in rural Egypt. Imbued with the ideals of a European education, he encounters a world of poverty and backwardness where an imported legal system is both alien and incomprehensible.
£11.24
Saqi Books Woman Life Freedom: Voices and Art from the Women’s Protests in Iran
Jina Mahsa Amini’s death at the hands of Iran’s Morality Police on 16 September 2022 sparked widespread protests across the country. Women took to the streets, uncovering their hair, burning headscarves and chanting ‘Woman Life Freedom’ – ‘Zan Zendegi Azadi’ in Persian and ‘Jin Jîyan Azadî’ in Kurdish – in mass demonstrations. An explosion of creative resistance followed as art and photography shared online went viral and people around the world saw what was really going on in Iran. Woman Life Freedom captures this historic moment in artwork and first-person accounts. This striking collection goes behind the scenes at forbidden fashion shows; records the sound of dissent in Iran where it is illegal for women to sing unaccompanied in public; and walks the streets of Tehran with ‘The Smarties’ – Gen Z women who colour and show their hair in defiance of the authorities, despite the potentially devastating consequences. Extolling the power of art, writing and body politics – both female and queer – this collection is a universal rallying call and a celebration of the women the regime has tried and failed to silence. This is what protest looks like.
£15.16
Saqi Books Hizbullah: The Story from within
Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem provides an unparalleled insider's view of the workings of this Shi'ite resistance group turned political party. Formed in 1982 in response to Israel's invasion of Lebanon, Hizbullah was instrumental in eventually forcing Israel to withdraw its troops in 2000, thus ending a twenty-two-year military occupation. In the summer war of 2006, Hizbullah proved to the world that it is much more than a political party - it is a force to be reckoned with. This updated paperback includes a new chapter covering the 2006 war and the spring 2008 events in Beirut.
£14.44