Books by Arab or Arab American Authors

Published on 25 April 2024 at 09:34

Did you know that April is Arab American Heritage Month? In honor of this occasion, I have compiled a list of books written by Arab and Arab American Authors. While you are picking out your books, you can also check out the links below to learn more about this heritage month and how it is celebrated across the country. Scroll down to dig through the list of books.

Image Description: A book is open on a white table. The books is held open by a cup and saucer. The cup is filled with milky tea. The book is framed by a tan sweater on the right and a branch of faux berries on the left.

Credit: Sixteen Miles Out / Unsplash

Books, Poems, and More Written by Arab and Arab American Authors:

Fiction

  • The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf
  • Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami
  • Between Two Moons by Aisha Abdel Gawad
  • The Frightened Ones by Dima Wannous
  • Mother of Strangers by Suad Amiry
  • Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamad
  • The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher
  • Watch Us Dance by Leila Slimani
  • The Occasional Virgin by Hanan al-Shaykh
  • Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
  • What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad
  • The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi
  • Man o'War by Cory McCarthy
  • Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar
  • You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat
  • Belladonna by Anbara Salam
  • This is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi
  • Esther's Notebooks by Riad Sattouf
  • The Tale of Princess Fatima by Melanie Magidow
  • Arab Boy Delivered by Paul Aziz Zarou
  • The Republic of False Truths by Alaa Al Aswany
  • The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
  • The Frightened Ones by Dima Wannous
  • People Like Them by Samira Sedira
  • Home Is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo
  • A Long Walk to Gaza by Asmaa Alatawna
  • Poison in the Air by Jabbour Douaihy
  • The Bookseller's Notebooks by Jalal Barjas
  • Huddud's House by Fadi Azzam
  • Master of the Eclipse by Etel Adnan
  • The Drowning by Hammour Ziada
  • The King of India by Jabbour Douaihy
  • Guns and Almond Milk by Mustafa Marwan
  • The Baghdad Villa by Zuheir El-Hetti
  • We Are All Equally Far Away from Love by Adania Shibli
  • All the Women Inside Me by Jana Elhassan
  • Under the Gaze of Angels by Said Habib
  • The Dispersal by Inaam Kachachi
  • Summer with the Enemy by Shahla Ujaili
  • Always Coca-Cola by Alexandra Chreiteh
  • The Shell by Mustafa Khalifa
  • Damascus Nights by Rafik Schami
  • The Old Woman and the River by Ismail Fahd Ismail
  • Dune Song by Anissa Bouziane
  • A Sky so Close to Us by Shahla Ujaily
  • The Book of Queens by Joumana Haddad
  • Wild Thorns by Sahar Khalifeh
  • All That's Left to You by Ghassan Kanafani
  • The Secret Life of Saeed by Emile Habiby
  • Touch by Adania Shibli
  • The Shell by Moustafa Khalifa
  • June Rain by Jabbour Douaihy
  • The American Granddaughter by Inaam Kachachi
  • The Ninety-Ninth Floor by Jana Elhassan
  • Scherazade by Leila Sebbar
  • Oh, Salaam by Najwa Barakat
  • Sabriya by Ulfat Idilbi
  • B as in Beirut by Iman Humaydan
  • The Other End of the Sea: A Gaza Novel by Alison Glick
  • The House on Butterfly Street by Mhani Alaoui

Nonfiction

  • Never in a Hurry by Naomi Shihab Nye
  • Out of Place by Edward Said
  • Arab in America by Toufic El Rassi
  • The Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha
  • Glory to God in the Lowest: Journeys to an Unholy Land by Donald Wagner
  • Seeking Palestine: New Palestinian Writing on Exile and Home edited by Penny Johnson and Raja Shehadeh
  • Namesake: Reflections on a Warrior Woman by N.S. Nuseibeh
  • My Damascus by Suad Amiry
  • The Storyteller of Jerusalem: The Life and Times of Wasif Jawhariyyeh edited by Salim Tamari and Issam Nassar
  • The Journey by Radwa Ashour, translated by Michelle Hartman
  • Palestine Hijacked: How Zionism Forged an Apartheid State from River to Sea by Thomas Suárez
  • Beyond Shattered Glass: Voices from the Aftermath of Beirut Explosion by Zeina Saab
  • Palestine: The Reality: The Inside Story of the Balfour Declaration by J.M.N. Jeffries, foreword by Ghada Karmi

Young Adult

  • Ida In the Middle by Nora Lester Murad
  • A Hand Full of Stars by Rafik Schami, translated by Rika Lesser
  • Wondrous Journeys in Strange Lands by Sonia Nimr, translated by Marcia Lynx Qualey
  • Abu Jmeel's Daughter and Other Stories: Folk Tales from Palestine and Lebanon by Jamal Sleem
  • Tales of Juha: Classic Arab Folk Humor retold by Salma Khadra Jayyusi
  • Determined to Stay: Palestinian Youth Fight for Their Village by Jody Sokolower

Children's Books

  • Sitti's Secrets by Naomi Shihab Nye
  • The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad
  • Lailah's Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story by Reem Faruqi
  • Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy
  • Sitti's Bird: A Gaza Story by Malak Mattar
  • We Are Palestinian: A Celebration of Culture and Tradition by Reem Kassis, illustrated by Noha Eilouti
  • The Storyteller of Damascus by Rafik Schami, illustrated by Peter Knorr, translated by Michel Moushabeck
  • The Ghoul by Taghreed Najjar, illustrated by Hassan Manasra, translated by Michel Moushabeck
  • Arab Fairy Tale Feasts: A literary Cookbook by Karim Alrawi, illustrated by Nahid Kazemi
  • What Shall We Play Now? by Taghreed Najjar, illustrated by Charlotte Shama

Poetry

  • Grape Leaves: A Centry of Arab-American Poetry by Gregory Orfalea
  • I Don't Want This Poem to End by Mahmoud Darwish, translated by Mohammad Shaheen
  • In Jerusalem and Other Poems by Tamim Al-Barghouti
  • Palestine as Metaphor by Mahmoud Darwish

***I have not read all of these books, so I can't speak to their content. Please do your own research and select the book/content that is best for you.

Sources

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Icecubeforever
6 months ago

This is a wonderful website, useful to all ages, continue the lovely work.

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