The Arab world has a vibrant and rich literary scene. At Al Majalla, we highlight some of our favourite picks—from philosophy and history to science, politics, and culture.
Book: Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World
By: Irene Vallejo
Translator: Marc Jamal
Publisher: Dar Al-Adab – Lebanon
The Arabic translation of this unique book delves into the journey of words, from their oral preservation in human memory to the invention of writing and the subsequent creation of books as a repository. Spanish author Irene Vallejo traces the history of the book step-by-step, beginning with the famous Library of Alexandria in Egypt (“a paper homeland for those without a home”).
She journeys through ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Phoenician, Greek, and Roman libraries, exploring the evolution of writing forms, alphabets, and the move from clay tablets to papyrus scrolls, leather parchments, paper, and eventually e-books.
In the library, “we are all invited”, the author says. “The library is a utopia.” On its shelves, a sea of contrasts: books “born in countries hostile to one another, even at war; books on photography and dream interpretation; essays on microbes and galaxies, the biography of a general beside the memoirs of a military deserter, an optimistic work by a misunderstood author stands next to a sombre book by a celebrated writer”.
Upon its release, Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World received widespread acclaim. Mario Vargas Llosa called it “a masterpiece,” Alberto Manguel said it was “a captivating exploration,” and the French newspaper Le Monde labelled it “a great hymn to the love of books.”
An international bestseller, it has now been published in more than 40 countries, with over 50 editions in Spanish alone, earning numerous awards along the way. The publisher compares it to One Thousand and One Nights but with a focus on books and writing.
Book: Khattab Revisited: A Study of Abdullatif Khattab’s Poetry (1959–2006)
By: Hamed bin Aqeel
Publisher: Dar Reyadah – Saudi Arabia
It is noteworthy for a Saudi author to dedicate a book to the life and work of Abdullatif Khattab, a relatively obscure Syrian poet known only to a niche audience. During his lifetime, Khattab published just a single poetry collection: The Demise of an Eastern Prince (1990). This year, 18 years after his death, his book The Dying Heron was also published.
The decision to revisit Khattab—and to publish this study through a Saudi publishing house—carries profound cultural significance and is a unique gesture of recognition, breathing new life into the poet’s legacy, reintroducing his works to readers, and inspiring friends and admirers to remember him anew.
The book includes examples of the late poet’s works and a brief biography, with Bin Aqeel choosing to examine Khattab’s writing by way of adopting Michael Riffaterre’s theory of ‘literary competence’. This seeks to avoid subjective interpretations and emotional responses, but rather to focus on the poet’s language and discourse—what Khattab intended to convey and how his poetry was likely received.
Bin Aqeel says Khattab has “rewritten the inherited mental images and reinterpreted the historical narrative that recounts its history, seeking to free itself from it”. He says Khattab’s language transcends all poetic frameworks and theories, whether in vocabulary or imagery. This “places his reader in a realm beyond language”.
In his analysis, he draws on a concept introduced by Russian philosopher and literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin: “the word in language is half someone else’s” and that it gains meaning only when the speaker imbues it with their own intention and expression. This insight reflects what Khattab achieves in his poetic oeuvre: he transcends established frameworks not by dismantling them but by reappropriating them to craft a parallel poetic universe.
Through his novel and unconventional approach, Khattab invites the reader to engage actively in the co-construction of meaning, liberating both language and audience from the constraints of traditional poetic conventions that have long shaped Arab literary culture.
Book: Translation and the Other
By: Aziz Al-Arabawi
Publisher: Centre for Studies and Publishing – UAE
In his book Translation and the Other, Moroccan author Aziz Al-Arabawi explores the pivotal role of translation in bridging the gaps between peoples on cultural, political, or religious levels.
Al-Arabawi argues that meaningful understanding among peoples has only been achieved through translation, and the progress of nations has been closely tied to their ability to translate the heritage, knowledge, and sciences of other civilisations.
The Greeks translated the knowledge of earlier and contemporary civilisations (such as the ancient Persian and Egyptian cultures). Similarly, the Arab-Islamic civilisation translated the works of the Greeks, Indians, and Persians. More recently, Europeans translated the broader Islamic heritage, particularly the Andalusian legacy.
Helping to show how civilisations build upon one another’s contributions, Al-Arabawi emphasises that what one achieves through translation ultimately benefits others, meaning that translation is the foundation of sound relationships between peoples, nations, and cultures. It is through translation, he says, that we gain a deeper understanding not only of others but of ourselves.
His book discusses translation and the development of Arabic, including the West’s contributions to translating the Holy Quran, the impact of translation on the evolution of Arabic, the role of translation in learning other languages, the influence of Arab-Islamic civilisation on Western culture, and Renaissance advancements in translation, all of which helped introduce Western thought and science to Arab readers.
He then looks at the relationship between translation and Arabisation, including scientific Arabisation, the interplay between Arabisation and Westernisation, translation in the realm of philosophy, and the translation of literary texts.
Finally, he looks at translation and its link to dialogue, exploring cultural differences, translation as a gateway to openness toward ‘the other’, its role in relationships and understanding differences.
“Translation provides fertile ground for promoting cultural interaction among the peoples and nations of the world, unimpeded by political and religious differences,” he says, adding that it plays a crucial role in breaking down barriers.
Book: Samarra Urbanism: A Study of the Abbasid Capital's Architecture and Planning
By: Khaled Al-Sultani
Publisher: Dar Al-Adeeb – Jordan
This comprehensive book delves into the architecture and urban planning of Samarra, the city in modern day Iraq that stands on the eastern bank of the Tigris, that was once the renowned and historic Abbasid capital.
Written by architect and researcher Khaled Al-Sultani, Samarra Urbanism explores not only the city’s architecture from an engineering perspective but also the social, historical, and political environments that shaped its development and influenced its urban achievements.
The author draws on modern studies in art, philosophy, and linguistics to shed light on the architectural advancements of that period, in a book that balances written text with visuals, showing how images are as important as the written narrative. Al-Sultani uses his own photos and those of photographer Rashid Al-Sufi, including the cover image. He also incorporates detailed maps of the city.
Al-Sultani traces the origins of the name Samarra to its historical root, derived from the phrase ‘Surrat Man Ra’a’, meaning ‘He who sees it is delighted’. Two of his chapter names adopt the phrase in different ways.
In one section, he looks at the towering spiral minaret of Samarra’s Great Mosque, at 53 metres tall. A passage in Al-Baladhuri’s Futuh Al-Buldan (The Conquests of Lands) says it can be “seen from afar, across great distances”. The minaret’s purpose, he notes, was to signpost the mosque amidst the dense urban fabric. It was not simply built to amaze in its aesthetic and architectural grandeur.
This book is part of the author’s wider analysis of Islamic architectural achievements, in which he seeks to illuminate the positive influence of these accomplishments on the broader trajectory of architectural practice.
Samarra’s urbanism significantly enhanced the corpus of Islamic architecture through innovative and unparalleled techniques and concepts while also contributing substantially to global architectural heritage.
The author is not alone in his interest—the urban and structural triumphs of this ancient Abbasid capital have been repeatedly analysed and interpreted by architects across different eras. This book is unlikely to be the last to do so.
Book: What is Gender? Sociological Approaches
By: Mary Holmes
Translator: Mazen Marsoul Mohammed
Publisher: Ibn Al-Nadim Publishing and Distribution / Al-Rawafed Cultural Publishers – Lebanon
In her book, Mary Holmes explores the concept of gender, its relationship with societies, and its place in sociology. Translated by Mazen Marsoul Mohammed, it will serve as a key reference in the field of cultural studies, which is becoming more important in the Arab world than elsewhere.
A distinction is drawn between gender (the roles and differences shaped by societal and cultural constructs) and sex (biological differences between male and female). Gender is, therefore, often referred to as ‘social gender,’ distinguishing it from biology.
A patriarchy is a system of society or government in which men hold the power, and many feminists believe that human culture has always been patriarchal, with women left socially defined, lower ranked, and excluded from governing or ruling.
The book says feminists often seek to “convince humanity that femininity needs to be reshaped through paths different from those followed in the past and present”, but that in reality “these narratives outline the journey of femininity, how it was formed, and how it was intended to appear”.
The author explores gender, its socio-cultural construction, its intricate relationship with the body, concepts of femininity and masculinity, the origins of differences between men and women, and the disparities enforced by societal and cultural systems. It then looks at the politics of gender and its interplay with class and race.
The book seeks to uncover the cultural and historical circumstances that have influenced the social positioning of women and vividly illustrates how life’s inevitabilities were imposed on them, distorting the essence of their identity and enveloping them in narratives of inferiority, weakness, and subjugation.
