Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Granada

Granada

Ashour, Radwa
Granara, William

Hardcover

Series: Middle East Literature in Translation

General FictionHistorical Fiction

Publisher Price: $24.95

ISBN10: 0815607652
ISBN13: 9780815607656
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Published: Oct 1 2003
Pages: 248
Weight: 0.98
Height: 0.79 Width: 5.90 Depth: 8.96
Language: English

Radwa Ashour skillfully weaves a history of Granadan rule and an Arabic world into a novel that evokes cultural loss and the disappearance of a vanquished population.

The novel follows the family of Abu Jaafar the bookbinder--his wife, widowed daughter-in-law, her two children, and his two apprentices--as they witness Christopher Columbus and his entourage in a triumphant parade featuring exotic plants, animals, human captives from the New World. Embedded in the narrative is the preparation for the marriage of Saad, one of the apprentices, and Saleema, Abu Jaafar's granddaughter--which is elegantly revealed in a number of parallel scenes.

As the new rulers of Granada confiscate books and officials burn the collected volumes, Abu Jaafur quietly moves his rich library out of town. Persecuted Muslims fight to form an independent government, but increasing economic and cultural pressures on the Arabs of Spain and Christian rulers culminate in forcing Christian conversions and Muslim uprisings.

A tale that is both vigorous and heartbreaking, this novel will appeal to general readers of Spanish and Arabic literature as well as anyone interested in Christian-Muslim relations.

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