Jokha Alharthi Is Man Booker International Prize’s First Arabic Winner
Jokha Alharthi has made literary history as the Man Booker International Prize’s first Arabic winner. The Independent Celestial Bodies follows, according to Amazon, “Mayya, who marries Abdallah after a heartbreak; Asma, who marries from a sense of duty; and Khawla, who rejects all offers while waiting for her beloved, who has emigrated to Canada,” as their homeland of Oman transitions from a slave trading center into an oil producer. Upon publication, the book received rave reviews with The National noting “it continually re-evaluates both present and past” and with the Irish Times stating it “brings a distinctive and important new voice to world literature.” …