LEILA ABOULELA

The new novel from three times Orange Prize longlisted Leila Aboulela Natasha Wilson knows how difficult it is to fit in. Born to a Russian mother and a Muslim father, she feels adrift in Scotland and longs for a place which really feels like home. Then she meets Oz, a charismatic and passionate student at the university where Natasha teaches. As their bond deepens, stories from Natasha's research come to life - tales of forbidden love and intrigue in the court of the Tsar. But when Oz is suspected of radicalism, Natasha's own work and background suddenly come under the spotlight. As suspicions grow around her, and friends and colleagues back away, Natasha stands to lose the life she has fought to build.

Intimate stories of longing and exile by one of our finest contemporary writers.A lonely housewife fascinated with a famous writer learns to find her own voice in Abu Dhabi; a bus route passing the Christmas lights along Oxford Street is a stark reminder for a female passenger of her brothers tragic death on the eve of his wedding; and a Scottish man working in a kebab shop and his girlfriend try desperately to reconcile Islams place in their fragile relationship.From the heat of Khartoum at the height of summer to the wintery streets of London, from the concrete high rises in the Gulf to the blustery coast in Aberdeen, this elegant and moving collection vividly evokes the overlapping worlds of Africa, Britain and the Middle East. Beautifully observed and written with empathy, Leila Aboulelas stories deftly capture the search for home in our fast-changing world.

A lyrical and moving novel by a three-times ORANGE-listed rising star, set in 1950s Sudan and Egypt.

Appeals to need abound in everyday discussion People make claims about their own needs all the time in a way that suggests these should have moral force This volume offers a fine introduction to an important concept in day to day life A new Foreword explains the book s continuing significance and relevance

Esta novela relata como una vida de privilegios puede cambiar drásticamente. Minarete es la historia de Nayua, una joven sudanesa de clase alta que emigra a Londres tras un golpe de Estado. Su viaje no solo la lleva a un nuevo paisaje y a otra cultura, su nueva situacion economica la obliga a trabajar como criada. Y es en esta nueva ciudad donde Nayua, una joven moderna, con una educacion occidental, encuentra su nueva identidad en las creencias y los valores musulmanes. El Islam no solo le permite enfrentarse a la vida cotidiana, sino que la prepara para asumir y reconciliarse con su pasado. Minarete es el retrato de una mujer que recibe una segunda oportunidad en la vida, a la vez que ofrece una mirada abierta sobre la religiosidad musulmana en Occidente. Escrita con franqueza, sencillez y fuerza, nos encontramos ante una novela fascinante y reveladora sobre la busqueda de la verdad, la religiosidad islamica y los valores de una juventud al mismo tiempo moderna y creyente

¿Es posible que una mujer musulmana sea al mismo tiempo moderna y creyente? Sammar, una joven sudanesa criada entre Gran Bretaña y Sudán, que trabaja como traductora de árabe en la Universidad de Aberdeen, esta convencida de ello, pero, viuda y alejada de su hijo, se enfrenta a una cultura ajena, que la ha hundido en una fuerte crisis de identidad. ¿Puede comprender realmente un hombre occidental las sociedades musulmanas actuales? Rae, profesor en la misma universidad, se autoproclama cinico y ateo, habla arabe, representa al Islam en los medios y negocia con los terroristas como consejero de su Gobierno. Pero en esta prometedora relacion entre Sammar y Rae surge pronto una enorme incomprension que pone de relieve la gran distancia cultural que los separa. Cuando Sammar debe partir hacia Egipto para trabajar como interprete entre los terroristas fundamentalistas y los intermediarios britanicos, entonces deben verse las caras... Escrita con lucidez y pasion, La traductora es una extraordinaria novela sobre la busqueda de la propia identidad y del amor en un pais hostil. Con una envidiable capacidad para reflejar los detalles de la vida cotidiana, Leila Aboulela nos presenta como una realidad vital los aspectos mas ignorados de las costumbres y los valores de los musulmanes.

In her Muslim hijab, with her down-turned gaze, Najwa is invisible to most eyes, especially to the rich families whose houses she cleans. Twenty years ago, Najwa, then at university in Khartoum, would never have imagined that one day she would be a maid. An upper class westernised Sudanese, her dreams were to marry well and raise a family. Then a coup forces the young woman and her family into political exile in London. The years that follow hold more trials for Najwa and the realization that she has come down in the world. But she finds solace - in her visits to the Regents Park Mosque, the companionship among the Muslims she meets there and strength in the hijab she adopts. Her dreams of love may have shattered but her awakening to Islam has given her a different peace. Then Najwa meets Tamer, the intense, lonely younger brother of her employer. They find a common bond in faith and slowly, silently, begin to fall in love

A story about family, ageing, fresh starts and the beautiful things that happen when we least expect them to. Suad misses her husband. He died unexpectedly during an argument at work, and she never got to say goodbye. But Suad knows she is lucky. Her three children have promised to look after her. After several false starts, Suad receives a warm welcome from her oldest son and settles down with his family in the countryside.Everything goes smoothly at first. Her grandchildren love her crunchy, homemade falafel and watching TV together. But as time goes on, things between Suad and her daughter-in-law grow tense. Soon, her daughter-in-law stops giving her lifts into town. She accuses Suad of interfering with how she raises her children. Then she wont talk to Suad. Finally, she asks her to leave the house. For the first time, Suad is on her own.Determined to make the best of it, Suad makes a new life for herself. How can she budget for just one person? How can she fill the long hours? And will her new neighbours warm to her?

When Akuany and her brother are orphaned in a village raid, theyre taken in by a young merchant Yaseen who promises to care for them, a vow that tethers him to Akuany through their adulthood. As revolution begins to brew, led by the self-proclaimed Mahdi, Sudan begins to prise itself from Ottoman rule, and everyone must choose a side.Yaseen feels beholden to stand against this false Mahdi, a decision that threatens to splinter his family. Meanwhile, Akuany moves through her young adulthood and across the country alone, sold and traded from house to house, with only Yaseen as her intermittent lifeline. Their struggle mirrors the increasingly bloody struggle for Sudan itself - for freedom, safety and the possibility of love.River Spirit illuminates a fraught and bloody reckoning with the history of a people caught in the crosshairs of imperialism. This is a powerful tale of corruption, coming of age and unshakeable devotion - to a cause, to ones faith and to the people who become family.