Ahlam Bolooki, the festival director of Emirates Airline Festival of Literature shares some of her best books by Lebanese authors

5 books by Lebanese authors that you won't be putting down anytime soon
5 books by Lebanese authors that you won't be putting down anytime soon
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The modern classic: Rabih Alameddine,  An Unnecessary Woman

This is an extraordinary story of an elderly Lebanese woman’s solitary existence. Aaliyah has dedicated her life to literature, and keeps company with writers, living and dead instead of people. The novel overflows with the interior dialogue about he

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The poetry fix: Zeina Hashem Beck, Louder than Hearts

One our festival favourites, Zeina is Lebanese but has lived in Dubai for many years. Her poetry is beautiful, passionate and powerful, and mixes between English and Arabic. Treat yourself to her collection Louder than Hearts, I promise it will bring goose bumps and throat lumps.

Dhs53 at Amazon

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The page-turner: Rawi Hage, De Niro’s Game

Moving and beautifully told, this is a powerful story of life and death in a war zone, and what comes after. Bassam and George are childhood best friends who have grown to adulthood in war torn Beirut. Now they must choose their futures: to stay in the city and consolidate power through crime; or to go into exile abroad, alienated from the only existence they have known. The novel won the International Dublin Literary Award in 2008.

Dhs45 at Amazon

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Personal histories: Najlaa Jraissati Khoury, Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales. Elias Khoury, Gate of the Sun

Najlaa Jraissati Khoury is keeping the traditions of old Lebanon alive with her collections of oral tales passed down through generations of Lebanese women. I like her Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales, for an atmospheric trip back through time to experience the Lebanon that may be lost. She is married to one of the leading lights of Arabic literature, Elias Khoury, His epic novel Gate of the Sun has been called the first magnum opus of the Palestinian saga, drawing on the stories he gathered from refugee camps over the course of many years. 

Dhs52 at Amazon

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The next best-seller: Amin Maalouf, Adrift: How Our World Lost Its Way

Amin Maalouf is an absolute living legend, one of the Arab world’s most respected writers. His new book Adrift: How Our World Lost Its Way promises to be a breath-taking analysis of the current global crisis. Coming out at the beginning of September, it is definitely one to look out for. I can’t wait to read it.

Dhs72 at Amazon

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