{"title":"Raja Alem","description":"\u003cp\u003eDiscover the lyrical prose and profound insights of Raja Alem. Explore her works, celebrated for their unique blend of cultural exploration and dreamlike storytelling. A captivating journey awaits within her novels.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"dove-s-necklace-book-raja-alem-9780715651759","title":"The Dove's Necklace","description":"Mu'az, the photographer's apprentice, was leaping between two roofs when he froze in mid-air, transfixed by what he saw below. Deep in the cleft between the two houses was the body.In Mecca's 'Lane of Many Heads' lies the unclothed body of a murdered woman. Nobody claims the victim: her nudity is a source of shame in the Holy City's strictly conservative culture. When the cholesterol-riddled and sleep-deprived detective Nasser al-Qahtani takes charge of the investigation, he is soon confronted by some of Mecca's darkest secrets by its corruption, poverty, misogyny and rampant greed. Never once shying away from taboos, Raja Alem effortlessly intertwines myth, fantasy and everyday reality to evoke the rich mosaic of Meccan life to tell the story of a civilisation torn between dogmatic conservatism and the desire to modernise. Narrated by several different voices including two headstrong women and the 'Lane of Many Heads' itself The Dove's Necklace is a beautiful, powerful novel which challenges false preconceptions of the Arab world, and conjures up a compelling portrait of a city and its people","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49541977735441,"sku":"GOR008309949","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0715651757.jpg?v=1751042113"},{"product_id":"dove-s-necklace-book-raja-alem-9780715645864","title":"The Dove's Necklace","description":"When a dead woman is discovered in Abu Al Roos, one of Mecca's many alleys, no one will claim the body because they are ashamed by her nakedness. As we follow the investigation of the case, the secret life of the holy city of Mecca is revealed. Tackling powerful issues with beautiful and evocative writing, Raja Alem reveals a city and a civilisation at once beholden to brutal customs, and reckoning (uneasily) with new traditions. Told from a variety of perspectives including that of Abu Al Roos itself The Dove's Necklace is a virtuosic work of literature, and an ambitious portrait of a changing city that deserves our attention.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49611027579153,"sku":"GOR007677609","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49642914939153,"sku":"GOR009909017","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51828375847185,"sku":"GOR014415149","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0715645862.jpg?v=1751200581"},{"product_id":"fatma-book-raja-alem-9780815608127","title":"Fatma","description":"The story of one woman's passionate odyssey and sophisticated fantasy of Arabia, ancient and modern.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49652635828497,"sku":"GOR012919829","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50362832879889,"sku":"CIN0815608128A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50369929019665,"sku":"CIN0815608128G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51008381583633,"sku":"NIN9780815608127","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0815608128.jpg?v=1767349742"},{"product_id":"doves-necklace-a-novel-book-alem-raja-9781468316223","title":"The Doves Necklace: A Novel","description":"When the body of a young woman is discovered in the Lane of Many Heads, an alley in modern-day Mecca, no one will claim it, as they are ashamed of her nakedness. As Detective Nasser pursues his investigation of the case, seemingly all of Mecca chimes in—including the Lane of Many Heads itself—in this “surreal, meditative take on a murder mystery” (The Guardian, Best Books of Summer).    Nasser initially suspects that the dead woman is Aisha, one of the residents of the area, and searches her emails for clues. The world she paints embraces everything from crime and religious extremism to the exploitation of foreign workers by a mafia of building contractors, who are destroying the historic areas of the city. Another view reveals the city through the eyes of Yusuf, Aisha’s neighbor, increasingly frustrated by the accelerating pace of change.  As gripping as classic noir, nuanced as a Nabokov novel, and labyrinthine as the alleys of Mecca itself, this brilliant fever dream of a novel masterfully reveals a city and a civilization in all its contradictions, at once beholden to brutal customs and uneasily coming to terms with new traditions.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50038291661073,"sku":"GOR013843154","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50376642265361,"sku":"CIN1468316222G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50383155593489,"sku":"CIN1468316222A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51331784343825,"sku":"CIN1468316222VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52396885049617,"sku":"NIN9781468316223","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1468316222.jpg?v=1758880738"},{"product_id":"fatma-book-raja-alem-9780815607380","title":"Fatma","description":"The story of one woman's passionate odyssey and sophisticated fantasy of Arabia, ancient and modern. \"There was a blue cast to Satjma's handsomely sculpted mesmerizing tale of earthbound witchery and celestial love.\"  Fatma, an Arabian peasant girl, unwittingly embarks upon a strange journey of transformation the day her father marries her off to a snake handler. Unbeknownst to the new bride, her husband milks the venom of his snakes for use in potions he sells on the side. Bitten by one of the snakes, Fatma changes from naive girl to sensuous woman. What's more, she now gains an arcane affinity for her husband's reptiles as well as a talent for controlling them. This trait will enable her to travel from the sands of Arabia to the shadows of the Netherworld beyond the realm of ordinary human experience.  Resonating with ritual and mystery, Fatma is a fabulous tale of one woman's path to ecstasy - an enraptured vision of enchantment in this world and fulfillment in another. The first novel to be published in English by one of the most distinguished of modern Arabic writers, this imaginative work blends naturalistic prose, poetry, and song with all the magic of its author's abundant literary gifts.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50362804404497,"sku":"CIN0815607385VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0815607385.jpg?v=1761387951"},{"product_id":"my-thousand-and-one-nights-book-raja-alem-9780815608660","title":"My Thousand and One Nights","description":"The distinguished Middle Eastern author Raja Alem grew up in Mecca at a time when the holy city was on the cusp of transformation from medieval to modern. In this vanished Mecca, vividly brought to life again in \"\"My Thousand and One Nights\"\", women hold center stage - especially Jummo, the wildly passionate daughter of the Water Carriers' Sheik. This faraway time and setting become compellingly real through the intimate drama of Jummo's life, the tragic arc of her affair with her childhood sweetheart and her lifelong love for the mysterious Sidi Wadhana, a more-than-human emissary from the Netherworld. Jummo's world, veiled and invisible to outsiders until this telling of her story, has the feel of the true center of an Arabia that has come to us in many exotic and threatening guises. \"\"Jummo's Mecca\"\" is a different world, with different narrative strategies, but her dramatic problems are universal: how lethal is love, how dangerous is woman? And how sensual is the yearning for immortality?","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51008239960337,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51008243368209,"sku":"NIN9780815608660","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0815608667.jpg?v=1767348032"},{"product_id":"sarab-book-raja-alem-9789774168765","title":"Sarab","description":"November 1979. Violence has broken out in the holiest site of Islam after a charismatic rebel and his devoted followers have announced the coming of the Mahdi and seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Among the insurgents is a young woman, Sarab, disguised as a man. As the horror and chaos of the siege reach their peak, she escapes and encounters a French officer from the opposing side. They form an unexpected bond, as hostility turns to attraction, but the violence of both of their pasts will return to haunt them. Award-winning writer Raja Alem's extraordinary narrative stretches from Saudi Arabia's Najd desert to the heart of Paris. In her typical bold and captivating style, this most unusual of love stories unpicks faith and fanaticism, alienation and redemption, and ultimately what it means to be human.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51067204370705,"sku":"NIN9789774168765","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52339858997521,"sku":"NLS9789774168765","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52822061383953,"sku":"GOR014629979","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9774168763.jpg?v=1773919563"},{"product_id":"in-the-heart-of-the-red-sea-book-raja-alem-9788857248929","title":"In the Heart of the Red Sea","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51216973398289,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51216975757585,"sku":"NGR9788857248929","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/8857248925.jpg?v=1751451759"},{"product_id":"dove-s-necklace-book-raja-alem-9781590208984","title":"The Dove's Necklace","description":"When the body of a young woman is discovered in the Lane of Many Heads, an alley in modern-day Mecca, no one will claim it, as they are all ashamed of her nakedness. As Detective Nasser pursues his investigation of the case, seemingly all of Mecca chimes in--including the Lane of Many Heads itself--in this brilliant, funny, profane, and enigmatic fever dream of a novel by Raja Alem, the first woman to win the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.     Nasser initially suspects that the dead woman is Aisha, one of the residents of the Area, and he searches her emails for clues. The world she paints embraces everything from crime and religious extremism to the exploitation of foreign workers by a mafia of building contractors, who are destroying the historic areas of the city. In stark relief with this grimness is the beauty of her love letters to her German boyfriend. Another view reveals the city through the eyes of Yusuf, Aisha's neighbor, increasingly frustrated by the acceleration pace of change.    As gripping as classic noir, nuanced as a Nabokov novel, and labyrinthine as the alleys of Mecca itself, this powerful and disturbing work of fiction masterfully reveals a city and a civilization in all its contradictions, at once beholden to brutal customs and uneasily coming to terms with new traditions. Raja Alem's singular The Dove's Necklace is a virtuosic work of literature that deserves the world's attention.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51580844605713,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51580844802321,"sku":"CIN1590208986G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52814940569873,"sku":"CIN1590208986VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1590208986.jpg?v=1751214188"},{"product_id":"in-the-heart-of-the-red-sea-arabic-edition-book-raja-alem-9788857251370","title":"In the Heart of the Red Sea (Arabic edition)","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51707917435153,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51707917533457,"sku":"NGR9788857251370","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/8857251373.jpg?v=1750936032"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-raja-alem.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}