Hanan al-Shaykh – författare

The Arab world's greatest folk stories re-imagined by the acclaimed Lebanese novelist Hanan al-Shaykh'Magical ... bursting with jinnis and mischief' Donna Tartt'One of the finest writers of her generation' Financial TimesOne Thousand and One Nights are the never-ending stories told by Shahrazad under sentence of death to King Shahrayar. Maddened by the discovery of his wife's orgies, King Shahrayar vows to marry a virgin every night and kill her in the morning. To survive, his newest wife Shahrazad spins a web of tales each night, leaving the King in suspense when morning comes, prolonging her life for another day.Gathered from India, Persia and across the great Arab empire, these mesmerising stories tell of the real and the supernatural, love and marriage, power and punishment, wealth and poverty, and the endless trials and uncertainties of fate. Retold by Hanan al-Shaykh, One Thousand and One Nights are revealed in an intoxicating new voice.

At the intersection of tradition and modernity, East and West, childhood and adulthood, Hanan al-Shaykh's characters find their way through the shifting and ambiguous power relationships that shape the landscape of the modern Arab world. A woman feigns insanity to escape from an empty marriage, only to have her plans backfire; a young Danish missionary finds herself slowly and inexorably drawn into the world of the Yemeni village where she has been stationed; and a woman's lighthearted attempt to contact the world of the dead turns serious when she encounters the spirit of her late husband. At once clever and evocative, I SWEEP THE SUN OFF ROOFTOPS is a collection of great insight, wit and poignancy, placing Hanan al-Shaykh among the foremost cosmopolitan writers of our time.

One of the world's great folk story-cycles adapted for the stage by leading theatre maker Tim Supple, from the stories written by the seminal Lebanese novelist Hanan al-Shaykh. This unique edition will unlock the ancient tales for a new generation of readers and performers.Written by Arabic writers from tales gathered in India, Persia and across the great Arab Empire, the One Thousand and One Nights are the never-ending stories told by Shahrazad night after night, under sentence of death, to the king Shahrayar who has vowed to marry a virgin every night and kill her in the morning. Shahrazad prolongs her life by keeping the King engrossed in a web of stories that never ends - a fascinating kaleidoscope of life, love and destiny. The tales that unfold are erotic, violent, supernatural and endlessly surprising.The web of tales woven by Shahrazad were exoticised and bowdlerised in the West under the title of the Arabian Nights. This adaptation unearths the true character of One Thousand and One Nights as it is in the oldest Arabic manuscripts. In turns erotic, brutal, witty, poetic and complex, the tales tell of love and marriage, power and punishment, rich and poor, and the endless trials and uncertainties of fate. The great cities and thriving trade routes of the Islamic world provide the setting for these stories that employ supernatural mystery and intense realism to portray the deep and endless drama of human experience.

Kamila is nine years old when she is taken from the poverty of her childhood village in southern Lebanon to Beirut. She has never learned to read or write though she longs to go to school. Stories, poetry and film are her passion - and a beautiful boy called Muhammad. They fall in love before Kamila is forced into an arranged marriage, despite her tears and screams. She is only fourteen years old. On her wedding night, her first daughter is conceived; four years later, Hanan is born. Kamila and Muhammad continue to see each other in secret, risking their lives. It is eight years before Kamila can bring herself to divorce her husband, as to do so means leaving her daughters behind. Beautifully evoking the dusty streets of Beirut and life in Lebanon, this is a heartbreaking memoir of an extraordinary woman.

As a flight from Dubai comes into London's Heathrow and hits turbulence, four people from different corners of the Arab world are thrown together: beautiful, lost Lamis, recently divorced from her wealthy Iraqi husband; Nicholas, an expert at Southeby's on Islamic daggers; louche and noisy Amira, a Moroccan who lives off immoral earnings and the transvestite Samir, with a monkey hidden in a basket. Landing safely they go their separate ways, but from then on they find their lives are intimately entwined. ONLY IN LONDON is a funny, tender and sexy novel that uncovers a unique world in the heart of a big city.

In an unnamed Middle Eastern city, four women from different social and cultural backgrounds tell their story. There is Suha, an educated Lebanese woman brought to the desert by her husband; Tamr, who must fight against male rule to educate herself; Suzanne, captivated by the men and the mystery of the Arabian desert; and Nur, in fierce pursuit of lovers (male and female) and foreign adventures - but her husband has her passport. All four women struggle in a society where women cannot drive a car, walk in the streets unveiled, or travel without male permission. It is a society where sex, due to its constraints, becomes an obsession. These women are treated to every luxury except that which they truly desire - freedom.

Yvonne and Huda have come a long way. Attractive, successful and glamorous, their brilliant ascent has flung them far from Lebanon, and each other. Now it’s only on their rarely snatched holidays that the friends can catch up. As they swim, drink and talk by the glittering Italian Riviera, Huda and Yvone ponder just how complicated it is to be free – and the eternal mysteries of love, sex, and getting a guy to call you back. Then, amid the glitz and chatter of London’s Mayfair, a chance encounter brings their past rushing back. But Huda has a wicked trick her sleeve…

Asmahan skriver brev, desperat, vältaligt, fängslande för att ge mening åt sitt liv och kasta lite glans över det. Men hon skriver också för att belysa kriget som söndersliter hennes land och återkalla sina minnen av det forna Beirut arkitekturen, lukterna, folket, prakten innan det bleknar bort. I dessa stämningsmättade, sensuella, pregnanta och roliga brev frambesvärjer hon med avväpnande öppenhet en kvinnas liv och lustar i en krigshärjad stad och hennes känsla av att vara gisslan i sitt eget land. Medan hon skriver till en vän i exil, till sina älskare, till sin idol Billie Holiday, till sin älskade mormor växer den ena berättelsen ut ur den andra. Kärleksfullt registrerar hon de förbluffande detaljerna i sin tillvaro, umbärandena, de riskabla kärleksaffärerna, den svarta humorn, den småaktiga missunnsamheten i en delad stad och sin ambivalens inför den nya ordningen där feodalismen ersatts av vapenhandel och fruktodlingarna av opium. Till slut frestas hon att lämna staden med Jawad som hon har blivit ohjälpligt förälskad i, och i det sista brevet finner vi Asmahan på flygplatsen... Beirut Blues är en storartad roman: ett närgånget och gripande porträtt av en lidelsefull kvinna och en oförglömlig skildring av ett land vid korsvägen.