The eyes of the literary world are on the judging panel for the Man Booker Prize today, ahead of a final decision on which 2013 novel will pick up one of the most prestigious awards for fiction. But it won’t be the only important gathering of literary experts. The judges for its sister award, the Man Booker International Prize, meet for the first time to discuss which authors might make the 2015 shortlist. And the presence of Wen-chin Ouyang as a judge could genuinely be a significant moment in the development of Arab fiction.
If that sounds over the top, consider this. Ouyang is professor of Arabic and comparative literature at SOAS, University of London. She has a wide body of published work investigating the Arabic novel and is the editor-in-chief of the Middle Eastern Literatures journal. If anyone can wave the flag for Arab writers in the Man Booker International Prize, it’s her.
“It’s thrilling to be a judge,” she says of the biennial award, which focuses on the career of an author rather than simply their last book. “And yes, I admit, it is a great opportunity for Arab fiction writers I know who are really very good and worthy of more attention. There are plenty who have yet to be discovered outside the Arab world.”
The reason that the inclusion of Ouyang as a judge is so exciting is that, unlike the Man Booker Prize, there is no submission process. The panel propose their own names. And given that it’s chaired by Marina Warner, who won a Sheikh Zayed Prize for Stranger Magic: Charmed States and the Arabian Nights, and teaches at NYU Abu Dhabi, there’s plenty to suggest that their gaze may well fall on the Middle East.
And not before time. Of the 70 authors shortlisted in the history of the Man Booker International Prize, there’s only been one writer from the Arab world: the late Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz. He didn’t win, but then, being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988 was probably sufficient.
“We know about Naguib Mahfouz, of course, but there are other equally important authors now,” says Ouyang. “The way the Arab novel has progressed has been quite fascinating, and for me, it’s become the most important genre in modern Arabic writing. Most critics agree that it reached maturity with Mahfouz, but I genuinely think there are now novelists who have taken the Arabic novel quite a few steps further in terms of experimentation and tackling contemporary issues.”
One might think cajoling some of the names of these novelists out of Ouyang in advance of the panel’s first meeting would be tricky, but she’s so endearingly enthusiastic about the quality of writing coming out of the Arab world that she can’t help herself.
“Ibrahim Nasrallah I like very much, but he’s little-known outside Palestine. There’s a Lebanese writer, Rabee Jaber, who is also not particularly talked about outside the Arabic-speaking world. And I always look forward to the work of another Lebanese writer, Hoda Barakat.
“Then of course, there are Arab writers who don’t write in Arabic, which is an important distinction. My favourite of those right now is Rawi Hage– his work is really gripping. But no, I’m not going to give away too many names.”
Ouyang may be throwing us off the scent. The Canada-based Hage, as good as he is, has only published three novels – hardly a body of work. To say that Nasrallah, Barakat and Jaber are relative unknowns is a slight misnomer – they were all longlisted for this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction, and Jaber won it in 2012. But none of them have had many books translated, which may be their undoing for Man Booker International consideration – the award can be bestowed upon an author writing in any language, just as long as their novels are widely available in English.
Still, Ouyang’s day-to-day contact with Arabic writing tells her that there’s a real spread of novelists to choose from in the months to come. Which is not bad for a form that, until relatively recently, was nowhere near as potent a means of literary expression as poetry.
“Lots has changed,” she agrees. “And that’s because of historical and political circumstances, and maybe the need for more space to work out the complexities of modern life.
“Best of all, there’s not one style of Arab novel, nor are we seeing pastiches of European fiction. There’s a real sense of a diverse, multicultural writing scene, and I hope we can show that in this prize. I’m really excited.”
• Visit www.themanbookerprize.com for more information
artslife@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
NBA FINALS SO FAR
(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)
Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106
Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland
Game 7 Sunday, at Toronto (if needed)
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
