The Dove's Necklace
Published on 2. June 2016
Book
Hardback
544 pages
978-0-7156-4586-4 (ISBN)
Description
When a dead woman is discovered in Abu Al Roos, one of Mecca's many alleys, no one will claim the body because they are ashamed by her nakedness. As we follow the investigation of the case, the secret life of the holy city of Mecca is revealed. Tackling powerful issues with beautiful and evocative writing, Raja Alem reveals a city and a civilisation at once beholden to brutal customs, and reckoning (uneasily) with new traditions. Told from a variety of perspectives including that of Abu Al Roos itself The Dove's Necklace is a virtuosic work of literature, and an ambitious portrait of a changing city that deserves our attention.
Reviews / Votes
A surreal and meditative take on a murder mystery -- Deborah Smith * Guardian summer reads * Raja Alem's reputation in contemporary Arabic literature [is] similar to Nabokov's in ours: masterful, erudite, witty, and somewhat dangerous. * Bomb * The real mystery here is Mecca itself, with the intricacies of its customs and new ways of life seen through many lenses . . . This intriguing narrative style . . . fits the mysteries of Mecca. * Booklist *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Dimensions
Height: 237 mm
Width: 167 mm
Weight
717 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7156-4586-4 (9780715645864)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Raja Alem is a novelist and playwright, and a tutor at the Center for Training Kindergarten Teachers in Jeddah. She has had several plays and novels, and a collection of short stories published in Arabic and French The Dove's Necklace is her first full novel to be published in English translation, for which she won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2011. She divides her time between Jeddah and Paris.