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#OnThisDay Catch Up Time!

May 21 - 2019 Celestial Bodies by Johka Alharthi (and translated by Marilyn Booth) became the first Arabic title to win the Man Booker International Prize.

May 22 - 1570 'Theatrum Orbis Terrarum' (Theatre of the World), is the world's first atlas, published by Abraham Ortelius in Antwerp with 70 maps.

May 23 - 1943 Thomas Mann begins writing Dr Faustus

#HistoryGetsLIT will return with proper blurbs tomorrow!

Found this gem in the local library and had a magical carpet ride into Oman. The way the author blends the mundane and the magical is outstanding. I love how the narrative is given to different characters and you get to know them from the way they think and live. History comes alive through family stories of several generations. Simply brilliant.

Celestial Bodies by Omani author Jokha Alharti and a cup of cardamom-flavoured coffee - hopefully not too far from Omani-style coffee. So happy I was able to tick off Oman in my list of countries to visit through fiction with a novel that has real literary merit.

#Oman #globalliterature #translation

Al-Awafi is a small village in #Oman. Time seems to have passed without any changes. People live their lives as they have for centuries in this desolate part of the country. But this is the 20th century and things ARE changing. This book tells how the community deals with current times. The story is a combination of folklore and magic realism, of fiction and journalism.

#pop21 #FamilyTree #ReadingAsia2021 🇴🇲 #InternationalBookerPrize

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks #ReadingAsia2021 @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle

This book by a female author from #Oman and set in that same country was beautifully written. My only complaint is the number of characters. I found it hard to become emotionally attached to them since they changed frequently.

It's a multi-generational story with great female characters. I enjoyed most of it and would definitely try another read by this author one day.

I read this to fulfill Bookriot's Read Harder Challenge for a non-European novel in translation. I mainly chose this novel because it is by an Omani author, and I recently adopted a cat from Oman.
Before reading this I knew virtually nothing about Oman and the novel made me want to learn more about the history of the country. It was a lovely book, going back and forth to various characters of various generations.

This was my first book by a person from Oman. It was interesting, not all of the characters were likeable. It did give me a better understanding of their culture and their identity.
#readharder non european novel in translation

This was my first book by a person from Oman. It was interesting, not all of the characters were likeable. It did give me a better understanding of their culture and their identity.
#readharder non european novel in translation

This was my first book by a person from Oman. It was interesting, not all of the characters were likeable. It did give me a better understanding of their culture and their identity.
#readharder non european novel in translation

First novel by an Omani woman translated into English - it's more a character study than a novel, imo, but still a fascinating look into the life of a village in Oman.

A story arc best described as a spirograph, it‘s centered on Abdallah, who narrates almost every other chapter, with the rest told by various women - his wife Mayya, his daughter London, the slave who raised him, his sisters and mother-in-law - whose reminiscences, linked by theme, swirl from present to past. Some are tightly focused, some circle wider, and some spin off in a different direction altogether, circumscribing a culture in transition.

I never quite connected with this story of multiple generations in #Oman. I often like books that move between storylines set at different times, but I just never quite got a handle on this one. I don‘t know if print would have been better or if I just wasn‘t that interested. 🤷🏼‍♀️

#ReadingAsia2021

With the tagged book, I have completed my 2020 reading challenge!!!
YAY!!!

Excellent book.
Review here
https://myliteraryramblings.in/2020/11/25/celestial-bodies-jokha-al-harthi/

Added a TO BE READ column on my shelf, to keep the motivation alive.

Currently reading tagged book, originally written in Arabic, the first novel by an Omani woman to be translated into English and the first novel in Arabic to be awarded the Man Booker International Prize.

4⭐️ I read this as the #bookcougars had selected this for their latest book club selection. It took awhile for me to understand where the book was going, but once I had understood what the book was about and could place things, I really liked it. #fiction #bookreview #bookstagram #ownvoices #2020 #translation #awardwinner #middleeast #celestialbodies #contemporary The book was my #doublebookspin for October

Onto book 2 #deweysreadathon #readathon

P146 [Salima‘s mother grieving son]
She died, though no one knew she was dead. Every day, and every night, for ten years, she died a little more. She breathed and ate and drank but she was dead. She spoke to people and walked among them, dead. Only much later did her body give up its already-deceased spirit, its dead spirit, no longer forced to pretend, to play at being alive.

OK, so sometimes teeters on maudlin but characters so appealing.

Najiya, “Qamar—the moon,” Bedouin camel trader, is maybe the most independent woman, taking over father‘s neglected business, taking care of disabled brother, building new house, seducing Azzan. But tragic end of course, free but cursed.

P156 Did she [her mother] want Asma to know the value of freedom that marriage would give her? ... Marriage was her identity document, her passport to a world wider than home.

Contemporary turn on marriage plot

Took some chapters, but snuck up on me and won me over. Multi-generational novel set in village of al-Awafi, Oman. Family, marriage, motherhood, societal transition (slavery abolished in Oman in 1970 [!?]). Close 3rd-person chapters from different characters intercut w/ 1st-person from Abdallah. Strong voices, strong desires, gossip, intrigue. Great minor characters (Najiya, Maneen). Poetic imagery. Skips through time, holds back secrets. 2019

Started Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi, translated from the Arabic by Marilyn Booth. Alharthi is the first Omani woman to have a novel translated into English. I‘m reading this for The Book Cougars podcast latest readalong. Ordered my copy from Bank Square Books. Love their bookmarks!!

My #bookspin and #bookspinbingo list for October. I know some of you think I‘m nuts by reading War and Peace in a months time. Well I don‘t have a #bookclub selection to read this month (we meet 4x a year: 2x in the fall and 2x in the spring; my library book club is suspended due to COVID).

Beautiful. Gem of a book.

Her mother hadn‘t given the matter of love any particular thought, since it never would have occurred to her that pale Mayya, so silent and still, would think about anything in this mundane world beyond her threads and the selvages of her fabrics, or that she would hear anything other than the clatter of her sewing machine." (from "Celestial Bodies: Winner of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize" by Alharthi Johka, Marilyn Booth)

Just getting into Celestial Bodies. Hoping to learn something-I know nothing about Omani culture!

Books Read April 2020: 77-107 (pictured are 5-star reads)

http://readingenvy.blogspot.com/2020/05/books-read-april-2020-77-107.html

Total Books Read: 31

Audiobook: 1
eBook: 23
Print: 7

Library: 6 (this includes library eBooks and Hoopla)
Review copy: 18
Own: 7

American/Canadian Indigenous Writers: 3
Graphic novel/comic: 1
Memoir: 3
Middle East 2020: 6
National Poetry Month: 10
Romance: 2
SFF: 3
Short Stories: 1
Translated: 4

Not an easy book to read, with its myriad of characters and different timelines, but still beautifully written. After a while I started to treat it like a series of short stories or vignettes and found this much easier, which increased my enjoyment.

I liked that all 3 sisters had differing views of marriage, womanhood and motherhood. I also leant a lot about the culture of Oman, which I appreciated.

Helen, help!!! This book is leaving me all sorts of confused 🤷🏼‍♀️ I‘m not following or enjoying....at page 74 and ready to bail 😬

I plan on reading this book over the weekend @squirrelbrain sorry, I got totally sidetracked by The Glass Hotel 😁I‘ve also lined up another book that seemed to call to me today; Ayelet Goshen‘s Liar.

I only read the author‘s note and first chapter so far @squirrelbrain ... did you pick this book up today?? I got sidetracked with an audiobook and my library copy of The Glass Hotel ( sooooo good) but hoping to make progress with Celestial Bodies over the weekend.

I‘m ready to start tomorrow @squirrelbrain How about you?

This the first novel by a woman in Oman to be translated into English, and it won the International Booker Prize. I learned a lot about Oman's history and traditions in the background but most of the story is about multiple generations in the village of al-Awafi.⤵️

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 I‘ve been hoping to challenge myself with more translated fiction and this one did that. The author/translator didn‘t help me with extra descriptions - she doesn‘t cater to my American perspective but I think that‘s important. The story switches times and viewpoints and is about relationships and Omani society as it‘s been changing over time. Of course I enjoy books that are easy to consume but I‘m glad I read this book.

A challenging book to read as it weaves through the lives of three generations and many characters. Even with a chart I had a bit of trouble keeping the characters straight. It is so worth the challenge. Short chapters take you backward and forward in time and allow you to experience the societal expectations and changes in Oman. The winner of the 2019 Man Booker award, it is beautifully written and intimate.

After reading the New York Times last night and being completely overwhelmed, I read this line: “the proverb-maker says: Knowledge means pain, not knowing keeps me sane.” Yup. I decided not to read the paper today. Homebound, safe, and praying for the health of all.

Fascinating look at multiple generations in Oman. I know little of this region and its culture. Fascinating structure and a book I would love to read again! Made me interested in learning more about the slave trade in this part of the world. I found the family tree in the front of the book critical. The narrator on the audio book was one of the best I have ever had the pleasure to listen to. My first 5 🌟read of 2020.

#bookreport #weeklyforecast
Missing of Clairdelune 🎧 4.5 🌟

Reading:
Celestial Bodies 🎧
Long Bright River 📖
What You Have Heard Is True 📖

I think I will finish Celestial Bodies today and Long Bright River this week. Hope to get more reading in this week!

So excited to start this Audio book today!!

I had a hard time keeping all the timelines and characters straight and after a while, simply gave up in order to enjoy the vignettes on their own. The language is gorgeous and flavored with Arabic and atmospheric enough that it kept my interest.

"...when we are away from home, in new and strange places, we get to know ourselves better."

Thank you so much for the lovely gift @Mitch - you‘re so kind! It‘s one that I‘ve been wanting to read for a while. My Dad lived in Oman for a few years, and I visited him there for a holiday about 12 years ago. I found it a fascinating country and the Omanis are lovely people so I put this on my TBR as soon as it was published, just never got round to getting myself a copy. And of course I love the Pages bookmark too! 😘

I stopped at the library on my way home from work! Never fails to make my day a little brighter.

Had a fabulous weekend with a bookish friend and collected books and brews on an adventure through Brooklyn. Here are my favorite purchases! #BookHaul

A beautifully-translated novel comprised of linked vignettes (best descriptor I have since the narrative is only vaguely linear with many narrators/points-of-view), the first by an Omani woman to be translated to English and the first Arabic-language winner of the International Man Booker. There are a LOT of characters and the narrative shifts back and forth in time, but they‘re all so interesting, especially the sisters Mayya, Asma, and Khawla.

Finished this Man Booker International winner just as my garden finishes as well. This is set in Oman and tells the story of a generation through one family- from slave trading to the generation branching out to other countries- but always tied to their small village through the parents and grandparents- the traditions surrounding birth and death, the cruelties and the surprising tenderness of found love. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am a little unsure what to make of this one ..

Whiskey and I are observing Women in Translation month- and napping! Whiskey is dreaming of Celestial Bodies💫🌔☄️☀️ #DogsOfLitsy