A review by John Domini for The Brooklyn Rail, Published September 2023
From the first, the Syrian novelist Khaled Khalifa scores his latest for full orchestra. The opening page considers the grim aftermath of a devastating Euphrates flood, not far from Aleppo, back in 1907, and it summons every instrument, from tuba to triangle, in a rising crescendo of sorrow:” Before Mariana Nassar lost consciousness, she saw the bodies of her mother, her father, and her four brothers and sisters floating on the river alongside others she recognized: her neighbor and …

The National Book Award, New York, announced its longlist. The shortlist will be revealed on October 3rd, and the winner announced on November 15.
Khaled Khalifa’s “No one prayed over their graves”, translated by Leri Price, published by FSG in the USA is amongst the longlisted. Khalifa’s previous novel “Death is hard work” was shortlisted to the National Book Award in 2019.
Publishers submitted a total of 154 books for the 2023 National Book Award for Translated Literature.

The Chicago Review of Books recommends Khalifa’s “No one prayed over their graves” as one of the 12 must reads of July! By Michael Welch, July 5, 2023
 
From the National Book Award finalist Khaled Khalifa comes the story of two friends whose lives are altered by a flood that devastates their Syrian village. On a December morning in 1907, Hanna and Zakariya return to their village near Aleppo to discover that their neighbors and families have all tragically died in a massive flood. The traumatic event forever changes Hanna, who …

Published by Asymptote, on June 5, 2023
In a three part series, Asymptote asks the 2023 PEN/Heim grantees to talk about the books they are working on.
Below, we are happy to share Margaret Litvin’s words on Khalil Alrez’ “A sleepless giraffe in Damascus”.
 
At first it was the rhythm of his sentences: polished and wry, leisurely but not ornamented, like no Arabic prose style I had seen.

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.

Samar Yazbek‘s novel “Planet of clay” (also known as The blue pen) is a finalist to the National Book Award, and is competing with 4 other titles in the translated fiction category!
Planet of clay was in the third and final selection of the French Femina award in 2018.