Amin Maalouf, living in France but born in Lebanon (which is still not Arabia ;)) wrote a great fictional account of Ommar Khayyam's life : Samarkand. I remember adoring it.
ooh, yes, I *loved* Samarkand, and to a lesser extent some of his other books. He even has an unusually-fascinating blog. [or had, at least]. I'd somehow just thought of him as French, despite the content of his books.
I found Girls of Riyadh interesting. It's completely fluffy chick lit, but it's Saudi Arabian chick lit, which makes it interesting as a cultural artifact rather than a work of art. I certainly isn't too downbeat or political.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-18 12:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-18 06:22 pm (UTC)authos
Date: 2010-06-18 03:48 pm (UTC)Amin Maalouf, living in France but born in Lebanon (which is still not Arabia ;)) wrote a great fictional account of Ommar Khayyam's life : Samarkand. I remember adoring it.
Re: authos
Date: 2010-06-18 06:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-18 10:27 pm (UTC)I also like Nawal El-Sadaawi, but her work is definitely more overtly political, and sometimes downbeat.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-22 10:03 pm (UTC)