Middle Eastern and North African Voices

Download the brochure Middle Eastern and North African Voices Book List (PDF) highlighting Middle Eastern/North African and Middle Eastern/North African American authors in our collection.

Fiction

Against the Loveless World By Susan Abulhawa
F ABULHAWA Susan
A Palestinian refugee slowly becomes radicalized while searching for a better life for her family.
 

Salt Houses By Hala Alyan
F ALYAN Hala
Foreseeing blessings and troubles in the lives of her daughter and grandchildren, Salma endures hardships stemming from the Six-Day War of 1967 in Palestine.
The Meursault Investigation By Kamel Daud
F DAOUD Kamel
This response to Camus's The Stranger is at once a love story and a political manifesto about post-colonial Algeria.
What Strange Paradise By Omar El Akkad
F EL AKKAD Omar
Omar looks at the global refugee crisis through the eyes of a child.
These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany
F EL-WARDANY Salma
It's always been Malak, Kees, and Jenna against the world. A tale of reclaiming friendship.
The Thirty Names of Night By Zeyn Joukhadar
F JOUKHADAR Zeyn
Follows three generations of Syrian Americans who are linked by a mysterious species of bird and the truths they carry close to their hearts.
Secret Son By Laila Lalami
F LALAMI Laila
Youssef El Mekki has always had big dreams of living another life. Suddenly his dreams are within reach when he discovers that his father--whom he'd been led to believe was dead--is very much alive.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation By Otessa Moshfegh
F MOSHFEGH Ottessa
After losing her parents, a young college graduate in New York City spends a year on drugs with the goal of sleeping through the year. 
If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English By Noor Naga
F NAGA Noor
An Egyptian American woman visiting her parents' homeland begins a dark romance with a photographer.

A Woman is No Man By Etaf Rum
F RUM Etaf
Palestinian-American women in Brooklyn are torn by individual desire, educational ambitions, a devastating tragedy, and the strict mores of traditional Arab culture. 
 

Frankenstein in Baghdad By Ahmed Sa’dawi
F SAADAWI Ahmed
When a wave of murders sweeps the city, reports stream in of a criminal who cannot be killed.
10 Minutes 38 seconds in this Strange World By Elif Shafak
F SHAFAK Elif
As Tequila Leila dies, the secrets and wonders of modern Istanbul come to life, painted vividly by the captivating tales of how Leila came to know and be loved by her friends.
In the Country of Others By Leila Slimani
F SLIMANI Leila
After marrying a Moroccan soldier during World War II, a young Frenchwoman is torn.
The Frightened Ones By Dimah Wannus
F WANNOUS Dima
Suleima and Nassim meet in the reception of their therapist's practice. Before fleeing Syria, he gives her a manuscript whose protagonist's life bears similarities to her own. 

Fantasy

The Stardust Thief By Chelsea Abdullah
FAN ABDULLAH Chelsea SANDSEA 1
Loulie al-Nazari is blackmailed into finding an ancient lamp, drawing her into a world where nothing is what it seems.

Throne of the Crescent Moon By Saladin Ahmed
FAN AHMED Saladin CRESCENT 1
Three superheroes bound together by a series of magical murders must work together to prevent world destruction.

Romance

Ayesha at Last By Uzma Jalaluddin
R JALALUDDIN Uzma
A Muslim adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
 

Graphic Novels

What is home, Mum? By Sabba Khan
ADULT GN KHAN
Sabba Khan investigates the complex shifts experienced by different generations within immigrant communities.

Where Black Stars Rise By Nadia Shammas
ADULT GN SHAMMAS
A therapist in training finds herself out of her depth with her first client.

Persepolis By Marjane Satrapi
ADULT GN SATRAPI
Marjane Satrapi's wise, funny, and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.

Non-Fiction

Our Women on the Ground By Zahra Hankir
070.4 OUR
19 Arab women journalists speak out about what it's like to report on their changing homelands in this first-of-its-kind essay collection.
Ten Years Later By Hoda Kotb
155.2 KOT
The Today show co-anchor shares the inspirational stories of six individuals.
This Is What America Looks Like By Ilhan Omar
328.73 OMA
An intimate and rousing memoir by trailblazer Ilhan Omar the first Somali-American, and one of the first Muslim women, elected to Congress.
Love is An Ex-Country By Randa Jarrar
813 JAR
Randa Jarrar is a queer, Muslim, fat, Arab American woman. In this provocative memoir of a cross-country road trip, she explores how to claim joy in a hostile America. 
Reading Lolita in Tehran By Azar Nafisi
820.9 NAF
Nafisi’s account flashes back to the early days of the revolution, when she first started teaching at the University of Tehran amid the swirl of protests and demonstrations.
Leap of Faith By Queen Noor
921 NOOR
Queen Noor talks frankly of the many challenges of her life as wife and partner to the monarch.
The Words of My Father By Khalil Yousef Bashir
956.94 BAS
For Bashir everything changes when the Second Intifada erupts and soldiers occupy the family home.

We Are Not Here to be Bystanders By Linda Sarsour
973 SAR
The author shares how growing up an empowered Palestinian Muslim American, feminist inspired her to be an activist.