
A Tunisian Tale
A Novel
Hassouna Mosbahi(Author)
The American University in Cairo Press
Published on 30. November 2015
Book
Hardback
208 pages
978-977-416-480-4 (ISBN)
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Description
After rumors are spread about a widowed mother's weak moral character among the people of a slum on the outskirts of Tunis, her twenty-year-old son takes matters into his own hands and commits an unspeakable crime. An imaginative and disturbing novel told from the alternating viewpoints of this unrepentant sociopath, as he sits and fumes on death row but willingly guides us through his juvenile exploits and twisted memories, and his murdered mother, who calmly gives an account of her interrupted life from beyond the grave, A Tunisian Tale introduces the narrative talents of Hassouna Mosbahi to an English-language audience for the first time, as he confronts both taboos of Tunisian society and the boundaries of conventional storytelling.
Reviews / Votes
"As in the real Tunisia, death by burning launches a thousand stories. Mosbahi's pacing is excellent, and this book holds its reader ever at the edge of his seat. [A Tunisian Tale] makes for a witty, teasing, and delightful read." - Egypt IndependentMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cairo
Egypt
Weight
455 gr
ISBN-13
978-977-416-480-4 (9789774164804)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions

Book
11/2015
The American University in Cairo Press
€17.50
Available (delivery time upon request)
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2011
I.B.Tauris
€9.99
Available for download

E-Book
10/2011
I.B.Tauris
€9.99
Available for download
Person
Hassouna Mosbahi was born in Kairouan, Tunisia, in 1950. He received the National Novel Prize (Tunisia) in 1986 and the Tukan Prize (Munich) in 2000. A Tunisian Tale is his first novel to be published in English. Max Weiss is assistant professor of history and Near Eastern studies at Princeton University. He is the translator of several Arabic novels.