Small Sun

Small Sun, by Zakaria Tamer, is an Arabic short story about a man who finds a stray sheep in an ally. This sheep tells the man if he lets him go he will give him seven jars of gold. Not believing the sheep, the man walked away to go home to his wife and tell her what happened. The man's wife encouraged him to go back to the ally to find the sheep and retrieve the gold. Upon entering the ally the man gets murdered by a drunk. I felt bad when the man died in the ally because he was trying to get the gold to make a better life for himself and his wife. His intentions were good but unfortunately he became the victim of bad luck.


The Trial of the Small Black Woman

The Trial of the Small Black Woman, by Abdel-Hakim Kassem, is an Arabic story about a man who has his money stolen. The man has a horrible cough and can hardly breath but he still manages to accuse a small black woman of the crime. Eventually she is convicted of the crime by a court. This story made very little sense because the details were hard to follow. I was also frustrated with the last section because it did not seem to have anything to do with the story.


Dreams Seen by a Blind Boy

Dreams Seen by a Blind Boy, by Yusuf Abu Rayya, is an Arabic short story about a blind boy who preaches from the Qur'an. The story briefly describes where the boy goes and who he interacts with throughout a typical week. The most interesting day is Friday when he and his mother attend funerals so they can get their hands of some bread. They get both leavened and unleavened which was confusing to me because I've never heard those terms. This story was just over a page long so it didn't have much substance but it was interesting nonetheless.


Clocks Like Horses

Clocks Like Horses, by Mohammed Khudayyir, is an Arabic short story about the tales of two men. One of the men is a traveler looking for a way to fix a watch that belonged to a dead relative. The other man was quite old and used to build watches for a living. I felt the most interesting part of this story was the way in which the author made a connection with the old man's dreams and his clocks. In my opinion, this was a very well written story and I really enjoyed reading it.

The Drumming Sands



The Drumming Sands, by Ibrahim Al-Kouni, is an Arabic short story about two men who begin a journey across the desert. Right from the beginning they face a few major problems such as the land rover breaking down, no food or water, and being stranded in the desert. This is a story of suffering, danger, determination, and the realization that death is inevitable. I felt this story was well written and much easier to follow compared to the other stories in this book. I also feel that this story was far more entertaining than any other story we have read so far.




Cairo is a Small City


Cairo is a Small City, by Nabil Gorgy, is an Arabic story about a man who becomes infatuated with a girl he sees every day there is a full moon. After seven months the girl invites him to her house and has her father pick the man up. Rather than go to the girl's house the father takes him to a different place. It was discovered that this man had once killed somebody and needed to be executed for the crime. This is what took place at the end of the story, as two or three men grabbed him, held his head back, and cut it off. I felt this story was a little dry and slow right up until the last paragraph, then it became interesting. If you exclude the first six pages, this was an entertaining story.


The Persian Carpet

The Persian Carpet, by Hanan Shaykh, is about a family that was torn apart by divorce. The father had custody of his two children and was ordered to take them to visit their mother. When they visited their mother the oldest daughter noticed that the family's Persian carpet was missing. As they soon found out, a nearly blind man stole the carpet from them for no apparent reason. The thing that made it interesting was the blind man was a trusted friend of the family. This story is an example of why you can't always trust those who you may think are your friends.


Flower Crazy

Flower Crazy, by Gamil Atia Ibrahim, is an Arabic story about a woman who is running around cheating on her husband. The man she is cheating on him with is known by the townspeople as, "Flower Crazy." They call him this because he always has flowers and he always brings them to the women he is after. This story was mildly entertaining and hard to follow. It seemed to jump around quite a bit and had no logical flow.

Glimpses from the Life of Maugoud Abdul Maugoud and Two Postscripts

Glimpses from the Life of Maugoud Abdul Maugoud and Two Postscripts, by Yusuf Sharouni, is an Arabic short story about a man (the narrator) who seems to be estranged from happiness. The story goes on to suggest that at some point he may or may not have committed some crimes. I felt this story was quite an accomplishment for the author, especially when compared to some of the other stories in the book. It was entertaining, though I felt it was a little too long. The author did a nice job of keeping a consistant theme throughout the writing.


The Gap in Kaltouma's Fence

The Gap in Kaltouma's Fence, by Ibrahim Ishaq Ibrahim, is an Arabic short story about a man who learns that a woman he knows has been recently married. He can't understand why she got married because she holds people to high standards, much like her grandfather. As the man learns, she married a highly dignified individual which made the situation easier for him to understand. I felt this story was a little easier to read than the others in the book. It had a better flow and seemed to have a stronger storyline.


At a Woman's House

At a Woman's House, by Mohammed Ahmed Abdul Wali, is an Arabic story about a man who is left alone in a dark, dingy room to care for a small baby. The man rambles on throughout the story about several things. He inquires about what is wrong with the baby, where his parents are at, and so forth. This story made little sense and leaves the reader with many questions. I was not able to figure out the point of the story.


Another Evening at the Club

Another Evening at the Club, by Alifa Rifaat, is an Arabic story about a newly married couple. The man's wife lost a ring and assumed their servant, Gazia took it. The husband eventually turned Gazia over to the police until she admitted to stealing it. I felt this story was very well told. It kept my attention and in the end, I was glad that I read it.


My Brother

My Brother, by Mohammed El-Bisatie, is an Arabic short story about a young man and his relationship with his brother. The brother seems to have a developmental disability of some type. The young man loves his brother very much and does everything he can to take care of him. Toward the end of the story the brother unintentionally injures the young man, which is the ironic part of the story. The young man takes great care of the mentally challenged brother, only to be beaten in return. This was an interesting story that really reminded me of the difficult lifestyles some people must endure.


Advice from a Sensible Young Man

Advice from a Sensible Young Man, by Bahaat Taher, is an Arabic short story about an old man trying to obtain help from a young man for his addiction to opium. The young man refused to help the old man, despite his desperate pleas for help of any kind, because the old man has done nothing but lie and deceive in the past. At the end of the story the old man crosses the street and ends up getting hit by a car, killing him. This story reminds me very much of what is going on today with drug addiction. Almost every drug addict tries to get help through someone else, but what they don't realize is that they must first help themselves. This story was a very good illustration of that concept.


The Cypriot Man

The Cypriot Man, by Tayeb Salih, is a story about a man who loves to be with women. The story tells about his encounters and how he got to where his is at that time. The man comes across a person known as the Cypriot Man. He tries to track the Cypriot Man down, but the man proves to be very elusive. I thought this story was very interesting and it was surely more entertaining than the previous stories.