Diversion

By Joe Klein | @JoeKleinTIME | May 7, 2007 | +

Just finished reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, a strange, haunting, slightly creepy and entirely memorable book. And it occurred to me that ever since 9/11 I’ve been reading an awful lot of novels by middle eastern authors. In fact, five of the last six novels I’ve read have been about the region, which qualifies as an obsession. (The other four: Ports of Call by Amin Maalouf, The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany, Bethlehem Road Murder by Batya Gur and Children of the Alley by Naghib Mahfouz).

Is anyone else out there similarly afflicted? Anybody have recommendations? (Yes, yes–I’ve also been reading a lot of non-fiction about the region…but the fiction part of the program kind of snuck up on me and I’m now officially hooked.)

Update: : Some good ideas from reader Miral–

Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
Salt and Saffron by Kamila Shamsie (pakistani woman author from Karachi)
Salman the Solitary by Yasser Kemal (Kurds in Turkey)
Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid (Mohsin Hamid’s first book)
The Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf (Syrian muslim immigrant family)
Order of Light by Haroon Moghul (recent NYU undergrad of Pakistani origin)
The Burning Mirror Suhayl Saadi (written by British Pakistani, collection of short stories)

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