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By tiny driver

Here are some of my favorite books on the Middle East North Africa/Southwest Asian North Africa, its communities, and its diasporas. This list contains fictional works, essay collections, a graphic novel, drama and poetry.

bookcover for The Complete Persepolis

The Complete Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi, 

Anjali Singh 

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Paperback

$28.00

$26.04

A contemporary classic, this graphic memoir takes us through Satrapi's childhood as she lives through the 1979 Iranian Revolution and her subsequent migration to France.

bookcover for The Other Americans

The Other Americans

Laila Lalami 

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Paperback

$17.00

$15.81

A beautifully written story from a linguist turned writer. FROM THE BOOKFLAP: "From the Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Moor's Account, here is a timely and powerful novel about the suspicious death of a Moroccan immigrant--at once a family saga, a murder mystery, and a love story, informed by the treacherous fault lines of American culture."

bookcover for Disoriental

Disoriental

Négar Djavadi, 

Tina Kover 

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Paperback

$18.00

$16.74

Translated from the French, Djavadi's novel has been receiving praise and international acclaim, and for good reason. FROM THE BOOKFLAP: "Kimiâ Sadr fled Iran at the age of ten in the company of her mother and sisters to join her father in France. Now twenty-five, with a new life and the prospect of a child, Kimiâ is inundated by her own memories and the stories of her ancestors, which reach her in unstoppable, uncontainable waves. In the waiting room of a Parisian fertility clinic, generations of flamboyant Sadrs return to her, including her formidable great-grandfather Montazemolmolk, with his harem of fifty-two wives, and her parents, Darius and Sara, stalwart opponents of each regime that befalls them."

bookcover for Exit West

Exit West

Mohsin Hamid 

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Paperback

$18.00

$16.74

Even after reading this book many years ago, it still haunts me. Written in the style of a fairytale, it follows Nadia and Saeed as they navigate through their country's civil war and its reverberations.

bookcover for Guapa

Guapa

Saleem Haddad 

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Paperback

$18.95

FROM THE BOOKFLAP: "Set over the course of twenty-four hours, Guapa follows Rasa, a gay man living in an unnamed Arab country, as he tries to carve out a life for himself in the midst of political and social upheaval."

bookcover for Brown Album

Brown Album

Porochista Khakpour 

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Paperback

$16.00

$14.88

Khakpour's work on growing up as an Iranian refugee in the United States was one of the most anticipated essay collections of 2020. A collection of her previous writing for other venues, this work shows just how expansively we need to think about what it means to be Iranian American.

bookcover for This Muslim American Life

This Muslim American Life

Moustafa Bayoumi 

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Paperback

$32.00

$29.76

Each essay that is part of Bayoumi's collection beautifully speaks to what it means to be brown in a post-9/11 US. Whether it's as an extra on the new Sex and the City movie or as a naturalized citizen getting his papers together, Bayoumi's multi-dimensional work speaks to issues that continue to plague our society today.

bookcover for My Part of Her

My Part of Her

Javad Djavahery, 

Dina, 

Emma Ramadan 

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Paperback

$17.99

$16.73

Emma Ramadan's beautiful translation of Djavahery's work from the French language. Emma is also the co-owner of Riff Raff, one of my favorite bookstores located in Providence, RI! FROM THE BOOKFLAP: "In exiled Iranian author Javad Djavahery’s captivating English debut, a youthful betrayal during a summer on the Caspian sea has far-reaching consequences for a group of friends as their lives are irrevocably altered by the Revolution."

bookcover for Look

Look

Solmaz Sharif 

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Paperback

$16.00

$14.88

Sharif's book of poetry is a rumination on the long War on Terror, showing us how language is one of the most powerful forces of violence in our present era.

bookcover for Calling a Wolf a Wolf

Calling a Wolf a Wolf

Kaveh Akbar 

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Paperback

$16.95

$15.76

Kaveh Akbar's book of poetry brings about raw and visceral emotions, as he takes us through a confessional reflection on his own path through addiction and recovery.

bookcover for Salaam. Peace: An Anthology of Middle Eastern-American Drama

Salaam. Peace: An Anthology of Middle Eastern-American Drama

Dina Amin, 

Holly Hill 

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Paperback

$19.95

$18.55

This anthology of plays contains one of my favorite plays on the Middle Eastern American experience, called Browntown. The play entirely takes place in a Hollywood casting office and focuses on the question of racial stereotyping and Middle Eastern representation post-9/11.

bookcover for Disgraced

Disgraced

Ayad Akhtar 

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Paperback

$18.99

$17.66

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in drama, this play is an incredible exploration of identity and displacement in a post-9/11 context. FROM THE BOOKFLAP: "The story of Amir Kapoor, a successful Pakistani-American lawyer who is rapidly moving up the corporate ladder while distancing himself from his cultural roots. When Amir and his wife Emily, a white artist influenced by Islamic imagery, host a dinner party, what starts out as a friendly conversation escalates into something far more damaging."