Princess Nai and other stories / Jamal Saeed ; translated by Catherine Cobham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Saeed, Jamal, 1959- author.

Contributor:

Cobham, Catherine, translator.

Language:

Arabic

English

Subjects (All):

Liberty--Fiction.

Liberty.

Soul--Fiction.

Soul.

Arabs--Fiction.

Arabs.

Authors, Syrian--21st century--Fiction.

Authors, Syrian.

Saeed, Jamal, 1959---Homes and haunts--Syria--Fiction.

Saeed, Jamal.

Saeed, Jamal, 1959---Childhood and youth--Fiction.

Syria--Social life and customs--21st century--Fiction.

Syria.

Ontario--Fiction.

Ontario.

Genre:

Short stories.

short stories.

Autobiographical fiction.

Physical Description:

144 pages : portraits ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada : ECW Press, [2025]

Summary:

"From award-winning author Jamal Saeed comes a collection of stories written in the dark of a Syrian prison. These gripping tales highlight his work as an activist, artist, and author, shedding light on Syria's ongoing humanitarian crisis and the enduring power of hope. Jamal Saeed wrote the stories in this collection during different stages of his life, but most originated while he was a prisoner of conscience in one of the worst prisons in the world. Other stories were composed after the Syrian uprising in 2011. One story -- written in 2009 when he was still in Syria -- is about a mythical olive tree that the Syrian military would eventually destroy. Canada plays a role too: Two of the stories were rewritten after his family finally escaped Syria and landed in Kingston, Ontario. In these stories, reality and imagination coexist, and again and again the reader arrives at the truth by exploring the imaginary. Most of Saeed's pieces include a poetic scene that enables the reader to engage with various characters' fresh dreams (or their scattered and shattered dreams, as the case may be). Love, beauty, despair, hope, the longing for freedom, the search for lost time, and the impact of the past all coexist and vie for supremacy. Here too there is betting on the future (along with mockery of every kind of bet). In the end, these stories open windows to the inner world of the human soul -- and it is also true that every one of Saeed's stories is based upon a solid fact."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Princess Nai, the flute princess

The scent of pine trees

Sunstruck

That night

The climbing rose

A lonely young man on the rocky shore

Fattoush

An olive tree

A shipwreck

The two nasties

The first kiss

The ring

Beans, beans, beans

The document

My grandmother Fatima's cough.

Notes:

Some stories partially written in Arabic but not published. All stories first published in English.

"a misFit book"--Title page verso.

Other Format:

Online version: Saeed, Jamal, 1959- Princess Nai and other stories.

ISBN:

9781770418042

1770418040

OCLC:

1504602945

Publisher Number:

90104596343