{"title":"Mai Al-Nakib","description":"\u003cp\u003eMai Al-Nakib’s writing captures the intimate and often untold stories that lie beneath everyday life. Her work, including titles such as \u003cem\u003eAn Unlasting Home\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Hidden Light of Objects\u003c\/em\u003e, explores themes of memory, displacement, and the subtle ties that bind people to their surroundings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWithin the realm of general fiction, Al-Nakib’s narratives are marked by a quiet yet profound depth, inviting readers to reflect on identity and belonging through richly drawn characters and evocative settings.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-hidden-light-of-objects-by-mai-al-nakib-9781849250856","title":"The Hidden Light of Objects","description":"\u003cp\u003eA young girl, renamed Amerika in honour of the US role in the liberation of Kuwait, finds her name has become a barometer of her country's growing hostility towards the West. A self-conscious Palestinian teenager is drawn into a botched suicide bombing by two belligerent classmates. A middle-aged man dying from cancer looks back on his extramarital affairs and the abiding forgiveness of his wife. A Kuwaiti woman returns to her family after being held captive in Iraq for a decade.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe headlines tell of war, unrest and religious clashes. But if you look beyond them you will see life in the Middle East as it is really lived  adolescent love, the fragility of marriage, pain of the most quotidian kind. Mai Al-Nakib's luminous stories unveil the lives of ordinary people  and the power of objects to hold extraordinary memories.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A densely imagined and beautifully written debut.' \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSydney Morning Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'With her compassion for an old, vanished world and her exceptional eye for the bruised landscape of the modern Middle East, Al-Nakib should be heralded as an exciting new literary voice.'  \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe National\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47288926896364,"sku":"9781849250856","price":45.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/11150223482846.jpg?v=1770580388"},{"product_id":"an-unlasting-home-by-mai-al-nakib-9781849251136","title":"An Unlasting Home","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSara, a philosophy professor at Kuwait University, has long had an uneasy relationship with her homeland. But after her mother's death, inertia keeps her there until she is accused of blasphemy and faces the threat of execution. As she awaits trial, Sara is forced to reckon with her place in the world and the women who shaped her.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHer grandmothers' lives span privilege and poverty: Yasmine, who married the son of a Pasha and soon regretted it, and Lulwa, swept from hardship into the wealth of an Indian merchant's household. Then there are her two mothers: Noura, restless for America, and Maria, the devoted ayah who leaves her own children behind in Pune to raise Sara and her brother.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA sweeping saga, \u003ci\u003eAn Unlasting Home\u003c\/i\u003e captures the tragedies and triumphs of three generations of Arab women in one unforgettable tale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA smooth, fast-flowing narrative...a testament to the eternal vibrancy and pluck of women in the Arab world.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSo fresh and unsettling that it will enchant you from the first page and linger for days after reading.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAccomplished and searing.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAl-Nakib writes imaginative tales with grace, lucidity and intelligence. Poignant and profound.\u003c\/strong\u003e Selma Dabbagh, author of \u003ci\u003eOut of It\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePassionate and skilful. Every detail lands perfectly and leaves the reader altered.\u003c\/strong\u003e A.L. Kennedy, author of \u003ci\u003eParadise\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUrgent storytelling of the lives of generations of women...with an exquisite and necessary philosophical discourse.\u003c\/strong\u003e Ira Mathur, author of \u003ci\u003eLove the Dark Days\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAl-Nakib lyrically explores themes of homeland, tradition and agency.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ci\u003eMs. Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAl-Nakib's storyteller's voice is fresh and original; her book grabbed me and kept me entranced to the last page.\u003c\/strong\u003e Diana Abu-Jaber, author of \u003ci\u003eCrescent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47734211084524,"sku":"9781849251136","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781849251136-an-unlasting-home.jpg?v=1781216577"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/mai-al-nakib.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}