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Traces of a Tattoo by Adel Bishtawi: chapter 14

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Traces of a Tattoo by Adel Bishtawi Read chapter 14 Washington: Uncle’s house Next morning 5783w Samir held up both hands to his sister. “Could anything worse happen to me on my wedding day?” He complained, angry and frustrated. “My body is covered with spots, and now I have my hands covered with blisters. How am I going to get married?” Alia examined her brother’s hands for the tenth time. She...

Traces of a Tattoo: Chapter 18

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Traces of a Tattoo Read Chapter 18 London: Mill Hill Cemetery Two weeks later 3844w Hisham pulled the sagging flowers out of the submerged vase and laid them inside a plastic bag which Wissam held open. He took the bag from his son, knotted its opening and laid it on the wet grass. He then picked up a fresh bunch, removed the translucent wrapping and shook it gently. The flowers and surrounding...

𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗢𝗢: REVIEWS

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𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗢𝗢 A novel by 𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗧𝗔𝗪𝗜 Reviews ● “The scars of failed love are often more painful than the wounds.” ● …Traces of a Tattoo earns one of its distinguished qualities from its scrupulous monitoring of its characters in their silence, speech and movements: in its scrutiny of their reactions, their deep and ambiguous fears, their sense of guilt and anxiety; and...

When the writer follows in the footsteps of his grandmother

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   Nouri Jarrah 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗢𝗢 𝗕𝗬 𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗧𝗔𝗪𝗜 A review by the distinguished Syrian poet and writer Nouri Jarrah Traces of a Tattoo seeks to convey several messages. Some relate to the woman and constitute a basic concern for the novel. The woman is, matter of fact, at the centre of the writer’s attention. To him, the woman is a reservoir of power and ability: she always finds her...

“One of the most beautiful Arab novels I have read in recent years”

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The Virgin’s Conception 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗢𝗢 𝗕𝗬 𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗧𝗔𝗪𝗜 A review by Hussam ul-deen Mohamed PART I Traces of a Tattoo is one of the most beautiful Arab novels I have read in recent years. It acquainted me with this surprising solitary writer, jeweller and skilled craftsman who proved both creative and entertaining. But this novel is not simply about achieving the challenging balance...

No ordinary novel

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Fathers, Sons, the Memory, and Love in the Computer Age 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗢𝗢 𝗕𝗬 𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗧𝗔𝗪𝗜 Reviewed by the distinguished Moroccan literary critic Mohammed Alloutt Traces of a Tattoo is no ordinary novel. Evoking the example of giant literary Arabic works such as Cities of Salt by Abdulrahman Munif, The Boys of our Neighbourhood by Najib Mahfouz, Midday Spectra by Bahoush Yassin (Morocco), it is...

A Novel of Emotional Programming and Meeting of East and West

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  𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗢𝗢 𝗕𝗬 𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗧𝗔𝗪𝗜 A Novel of Emotional Programming and Meeting of East and West Reviewed by Ahmed Zainuddin A modern novel would lose its glitter if it were to be stripped down to its narrative trunk and have its branches and leaves cut and trimmed. Based on a reading strategy and a memory mechanism prune to the act of subtraction and deduction as well as the assumption...

Bishtawi: “I have constructed a love story on the ruins of another”. 

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𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗧𝗔𝗪𝗜 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪𝗦: Highlights from an interview conducted by Syrian Poet Nouri (Al) Jarrah with novelist and historian Ade; S. Bishtawi Published in the Cultural Supplement of Oman Newspaper (Sultante of Oman) ● “I have constructed a love story on the ruins of another”. ● “Literature is the embodiment of the human conscience”. ● “Most chapters in Traces of a...

The novelist in Adel Bishtawi does not hate the journalist that he is but he does not love him either

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𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗧𝗔𝗪𝗜 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪𝗦: An interview with novelist and historian A. S. Bishtawi By Hussam-ul-Deen Mohamed, Literary Editor of Al Quds Al Arabi Newspaper (London). ■ Q (Hussam) You’ve been in journalism for many years, is the journalist competing with the novelist in you? Do they hate each other, or are they working hand in hand? ● I think that the novelist in Adel Bishtawi does not hate...

The Spanish Expulsion of the Moriscos and its Historical Impact

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𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗧𝗔𝗪𝗜 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪𝗦: María Elvira Sagarzazu – Argentinian investigative historian, researcher, novelist and essayist ✺ The Spanish Expulsion of the Moriscos and its Historical Impact I met María Elvira Sagarzazu for the first time during the 10th International Symposium on The Moriscos and the Mediterranean in the 16th and 17th Centuries which was organised by my good friend and Morisco...