Set in Furaija, United Arab Emirates. Reread on 2019/05: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx2qKEoA3Aj/
These next two reviews are both #reread and also both quite the books. I first read #thediesel by #thanialsuwaidi about a year ago. It still remains as #poetic #mysterious#evocative and #transgressive as ever, if not even more. I think a lot of people will continue to arrive at this book because of the novelty and controversy of being promoted as portraying a #transgendercharacter. To some extent #williammaynardhutchins in his translator’s introduction makes a valid point at placing this book published in 1990s in the spectrum of other #arabicbooks with #lgbtq characters or writers. Having said all that, the reader needs to be prepared to elucidate and at the same time let her/himself be transported to another dimension. Nothing is meant to be straightforward here. As a reader, you’re supposed to “float” through the chapters and the action. It’s a tiny book which beyond any linear plots aims to force you to read vertically and pay attention to those loud and heavy silences all around us. A #mustread without a doubt! #highlyrecommended #uae#genderqueerlit #emiratiliterature#alsuwaidi #fujairah #antibookclub#storytelling
Reviewed on 2018/02: https://www.instagram.com/p/BflY_Fbn_Ox/
How do you express #sexualidentity and #genderexpressionthrough a specific culture? Should we even care? As in most complex situations in life, it depends and it’s up to you. From my very comfortable room in liberal NYC, I do have the luxury and the right! to pose myself that question. In the conservative and money-worshipper #emirati society, #lgbtpeople does not have any rights whatsoever and are jailed, ostracized and even executed. Then alone comes this magical little book published a few years ago: #thediesel by #thanialsuwaidi Here you have the written proof of a perfect marriage between ancestral #arab and desert traditions and #sexualidentity in this case a #transgender man. There is no traditional or linear storytelling happening in this book. #alsuwaidi speaks to your soul with the melody of canorous sand dunes and the wisdom of ancient sages. The fact that this is book is a #translation impresses me tremendously. I literally had the feeling of reading the sophisticated embellishment of the #arabic letters and words in the English translation. Without a doubt this one comes #highlyrecommended . #uae#uaeliterature #fujairah #banipal#antibookclub #الفجيرة #censored
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