Leila Aboulela

Author profile

born

in Cairo, Egypt

January 01, 1964

gender

female

genre

Literature & Fiction

About this author

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Leila Aboulela grew up in Khartoum, Sudan where she attended the Khartoum American School and Sister School. She graduated from Khartoum University in 1985 with a degree in Economics and was awarded her Masters degree in statistics from the London School of Economics. She lived for many years in Aberdeen where she wrote most of her works while looking after her family; she currently lives and lectures in Abu Dhabi.

She was awarded the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2000 for her short story The Museum and her novel The Translator was nominated for the Orange Prize in 2002, and was chosen as a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times in 2006.

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Leila Aboulela's Books

Average rating: 3.61 · 1,715 ratings · 344 reviews · 8 distinct works · Similar authors

	Minaret 3.52 of 5 stars 3.52 avg rating — 669 ratings — published 2005 — 11 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Translator 3.57 of 5 stars 3.57 avg rating — 522 ratings — published 1999 — 17 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lyrics Alley 3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 385 ratings — published 2010 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Coloured Lights 3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 65 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Soraya's lied by Leila Aboulela, Nele Hendrickx (Editor), Anneke Bok (Translation) 0.0 of 5 stars 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	African Love Stories: An Anthology by Ama Ata Aidoo (Editor/Introduction), Ama Ata Adioo (Contributor), Anthonia C. Kalu (Contributor) 3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 2006 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The 'I Am Woman' Anthology - Volume 1 by Victoria Watson (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Margot Bloom (Editor), Rachel Cochrane (Contributor) 4.5 of 5 stars 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Granta Book of the African Short Story by Helon Habila (Editor), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Contributor), Fatou Diome (Contributor) 4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Leila Aboulela

“The Mercy of Allah is an Ocean, Our sins are a lump of clay clenched between the beak of a pigeon. The pigeon is perched on the branch of a tree at the edge of that ocean.It only has to open it's beak”
― Leila Aboulela, Minaret

tags: allah, bird, clay, leila, lyrics-alley, mercy, minaret, the-translater

8 people liked it

“I've come down in the world. I've slid to a place where the ceiling is low and there isn't much room for me to move.Most of the time I'm good. I accepted my sentence and do not brood or look back. But sometimes a shift makes me remember. Routine is ruffled and a new start makes me suddenly conscious of what I've become -”
― Leila Aboulela, Minaret

tags: colored-lights, lyrics-ally, minaret, the-translater

5 people liked it

“The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, When Allah loves a people, He tries them.”
― Leila Aboulela, Lyrics Alley

tags: faith, islam, spirituality

4 people liked it

See all Leila Aboulela's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Literary Fiction ...: "The Memory of Love" Makes Orange Prize Longlist	7	34	May 22, 2011 09:25am
The Seasonal Read...: Spring Challenge 2011 Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS)	2898	796	May 31, 2011 09:01pm
Middle East/North...: 2011 Stop (2) Nile valley and the Horn of Africa	80	78	Jun 24, 2011 01:52pm
Historical Fictio...: May 2012 Challenge- Report Points Here	48	142	Jun 01, 2012 04:14am
Around the World ...: Sudan and South Sudan	8	106	Feb 27, 2013 09:28am
Around the World ...: * Around the World in 80 Books Annual Challenge	110	1085	Apr 16, 2013 11:50pm

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