Leaves of Narcissus (Winner of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature)
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
This novel of home and homelessness, of exile both physical and psychological, centers on Kimi, a fragile heroine suffering from a rift in her persona, unable to distinguish between her own pain and the pain of others. For Kimi it is not a simple case of to be or not to be, but rather of how to be in disjointed and contrary times. Leaves of Narcissus, like earlier Arabic novels about East-West encounters by male writers such as Tawfiq al-Hakim, Taha Hussein, and Tayeb Saleh, is about a young Arab student going West in search of education. Here, though, the protagonist is a young woman and her destination is Ireland, a part of the West and at the same time a victim of the ravages of colonialism -- adding ambiguity to the customary representations of the East/West dichotomy. In this captivating novel, Somaya Ramadan displays a rare virtuosity in evoking and interlacing literary motifs -- from the popular to the learned, from the folk to the mythic, from the Egyptian to the Irish -- and poses questions rather than answers, questions that hold a mirror to our selves.
About the Author
Somaya Ramadan was born in Cairo in 1951. She received her Ph.D. in English from Trinity College, Dublin. She is a lecturer in English and Translation at the National Academy of Arts.
Leaves of Narcissus (Winner of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature),Somaya Ramadan,AUC Press,9774247272,Fiction,Fiction - General,General,Literary,Literature: Classics,Fiction / Literary
Books Info:
Recommended Books