Book Size: 5.25" x 8
Pages: 168
Format: Hardback & Paperback
ISBN: 9781566561464 HB ISBN: 9781566561402 PB
Imprint: Interlink Books
Edition: 1
Translator: May Jayyusi & Christopher Tingley
Category: LiteratureThe Hostage
Paperback $ 8.25 | Hardback $ 13.72“The cultural anachronism that was the Imamate of Yemen is artfully captured in The Hostage … At times reminiscent of Abdelrahman Munif’s “Cities of Salt” trilogy… Dammaj’s work vibrantly portrays a real Yemen that is still unknown to many Westerners, even as it is once again torn by revolution. Recommended…” — Library Journal
About this book
Selected by the Arab Writers Union as one the 100 Best Arabic Novels of the Twentieth Century.
Set in the pre-revolution Yemen of the Imams, this novel depicts the experiences of a young boy who, having been taken hostage, in line with the Imam's general practice, as a pledge for his father's political obedience, is sent to serve as a young male attendant in the palace of the city governor.
The growth of the boy's awareness, political, social and personal, is movingly portrayed against a background of bygone times whose decadence and injustice are presented with vivid satiric force.
About the author
Zayd Mutee’ Dammaj is Yemen’s foremost fiction writer. He has published several collections of short stories. This novel is the first English translation of his work.
Reviews
“The cultural anachronism that was the Imamate of Yemen is artfully captured in The Hostage … At times reminiscent of Abdelrahman Munif’s “Cities of Salt” trilogy… Dammaj’s work vibrantly portrays a real Yemen that is still unknown to many Westerners, even as it is once again torn by revolution. Recommended…” — Library Journal
Additional information
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