Literary Hub made a list of their favorite crime titles of the early fall, and Douaihy’s exceptional “King of India” is in there! Here is what they say.

 
As I sat, to write this post, I started searching for the best photo of you. The one I thought represented you most. And I ended up choosing the only one I never used.
You emailed me a set of photographs to send out while promoting your work, back in 2014. “Which one do you prefer?” you asked. I liked the ones where we could get a glimpse of your smile. They were bright, and taken from an angle where you looked all mighty and confident. I felt these reflected your sarcasm well.

By Melhem Chaoul, for L’Orient littéraire, published April 2019.
Starting with the title, Malek al-Hind (The King of India): There are no kings (in that story), let alone Kings of the Indian peninsula. By this metaphor, Jabbour Douaihy signifies the absence of power, the absence of control over fate, such as the Viceroy of the Indies at the time of the British Empire who managed a state whose fate was decided elsewhere.
Zaccaria Mubarak’s destiny is thus fashioned, fluctuating like the “Raft of the Medusa” on the murky waters of countries and continents.
The novel begins …

A detective story set on the background of family and sectarian feuds, The king of India, explores with the right dose of irony, the meaning of attachment to the land.

Published by World Literature Today, December 2018.
As the year’s news of rising nationalistic strains and attacks against the press continued, the urgent need for translation became ever more apparent. More and more, translation across borders embodies resistance. Honoring all those who take part in this important work, we again offer 75 of the year’s English literary translations.
 
 

Published by Midwest Book Review, October 2018
Farid Abou Char arrives in Beirut on a hot summer morning with his manuscript, looking for a publisher. He is turned down by all of them; nobody reads anymore, he is told. Instead, he accepts a job as a proofreader at the famous old print house Karam Bros., allegedly established in 1908. Disappointed by the menial tasks of checking catalogs and ad copy, Farid secretly hopes that his book will eventually be published.