Loading...
299th out of 441 books
—
93 voters
My rating:
add to my books
Wolves of the Crescent Moon
Banned in Saudi Arabia, this provocative, fast-paced debut novel confirms what The Washington Post reported about its award-winning author: "Yousef Al- Mohaimeed is taking on some of the most divisive subjects in the Arab world . . . in a lush style that evokes Gabriel García Márquez."
In a Riyadh bus station, a man comes across a file containing official report...more
In a Riyadh bus station, a man comes across a file containing official report...more
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
December 18th 2007
by Penguin (Non-Classics)
(first published 2003)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
175)
Dawn Lorien
rated it
This is one for Serious Readers Only: not pleasant nor fun. Easy to see why this in banned in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
IS excellent writing and translation from the Arabic, weaving of trio of character background storylines grounded in an uncomfortable portrayal of self-obsessive bitterness, and of three disaffected outsiders in Riyadh: a Bedouin, an orphan, and an African eunuch~ "souls disfigured by life and looking for peace and safety in a merciless world." "...A startli...more
IS excellent writing and translation from the Arabic, weaving of trio of character background storylines grounded in an uncomfortable portrayal of self-obsessive bitterness, and of three disaffected outsiders in Riyadh: a Bedouin, an orphan, and an African eunuch~ "souls disfigured by life and looking for peace and safety in a merciless world." "...A startli...more
المحيميد نصب فخ ملغم للقارئ براوية فخاخ الرائحة
تلك الرواية التي عندما فرغت منها
بقيت نصف ساعه أحدق بالسقف وأعيد ماقراءته
وأطلق مع نفسي مئات الاسئلة !
فالعالم الذي وضعنا فيه المحيميد هو الهرب
من الجحيم للجحيم ومن الظلم للظلم وحدك
أستخدم أسلوب الفلاش باك سلط الضوء على المهمشون في الارض
الباحثين عن زاد يومي ومكان يقضون فيه ليلتهم
غير مكترثين لما يحدث حولهم هم فعلاً يسكنون الجحيم ،
فضلاً أني أقول له أن الرواية ياأستاذي كانت تستحق أكثر من 119 صفحة
تلك الرواية التي عندما فرغت منها
بقيت نصف ساعه أحدق بالسقف وأعيد ماقراءته
وأطلق مع نفسي مئات الاسئلة !
فالعالم الذي وضعنا فيه المحيميد هو الهرب
من الجحيم للجحيم ومن الظلم للظلم وحدك
أستخدم أسلوب الفلاش باك سلط الضوء على المهمشون في الارض
الباحثين عن زاد يومي ومكان يقضون فيه ليلتهم
غير مكترثين لما يحدث حولهم هم فعلاً يسكنون الجحيم ،
فضلاً أني أقول له أن الرواية ياأستاذي كانت تستحق أكثر من 119 صفحة
This is the second book I read for Al-Mohaimeed after reading the Bottle (another novel by the same writer) So I'm familiar with his style and I find it amusing. What I like the most about Al-Mohaimeed is his use of a narrative that is different from the traditional narrative. The story begins towards the end, then moves next to the origin of all three stories till it returns back to the end of the first chapters. Once you reach the end, all the mystery behind these stories is revealed.
Thi...more
Thi...more
"It was OK" is exactly how I feel about this book. The story attempts to tie the fates of 3 men who are each struggling with a physical disability brought on by cruel twists of fate. This narrative has huge, great potential and could have made the book a real winner... But the book simply isn't written very well...
The narrative techniques are a bit awkward (I'm not sure what jumping back and forth between 3rd person and 1st person POVs really adds to the book) and I foun...more
The narrative techniques are a bit awkward (I'm not sure what jumping back and forth between 3rd person and 1st person POVs really adds to the book) and I foun...more
This book speaks to minority groups in KSA. It is eloquent and has that Hemingway "less is more" style which makes it a book that is always a treasure each time you read it.
Yet another overrated read. I do get so tired of American readers continual obsession with "different" cultures creating hype around poorly written fiction. The jumps in narrative, p.o.v., place/time, don't read as experimental but merely sloppy. There isn't a single compelling character here and the continual jumps between p.o.v. - sometimes in mid-paragraph, make it difficult to keep the various characters apart. While I did finish it (at under 200 pages it's a short read) I can...more
Sarah
rated it
Recommends it for:
people who like stream of conciousness, people interested in Arabic culture and locales
Recommended to Sarah by:
Saw it at the bookstore
Do identity crises always happen in bus stations? Wolves of the Crescent Moon follows that mental wanderings of a man who has found himself at loose ends after losing his latest job. He goes to the Ryadh bus station to catch the first bus to who knows where and ends up spending the night in the waiting room with his thoughts.
Turad lives at the bottom of the social order in Saudi Arabia. He's neither educated, skilled ot smooth enough to be successful in the big city. Yet, he's no...more
Turad lives at the bottom of the social order in Saudi Arabia. He's neither educated, skilled ot smooth enough to be successful in the big city. Yet, he's no...more
رواية سلسة ممتعه في اسلوب سردها و المعاني العميقة التي تحملها بين طيات احداثها الغريبة بعض الشيء
أحدهم سماها"رواية روايات"، لأنها تناولت ثلاث شخصيات، وثلاث مناخات مختلفة، بثلاث لهجات مختلفة,توفيق و طراد وعبدالإله، الأول ابن الغابات والنيل والأحراش، والثاني ابن القبائل والصحراء، والثالث ابن المدينة الصغيرة.
أنا شخصيا أحببتها وأحببت (القارورة)التي اتضح لي أنه كتبها
بعدها رغم الاختلاف بينهما من حيث الجو العام
اضافة ..
الرواية تجعلك تحمدين ربك على نعم...more
أحدهم سماها"رواية روايات"، لأنها تناولت ثلاث شخصيات، وثلاث مناخات مختلفة، بثلاث لهجات مختلفة,توفيق و طراد وعبدالإله، الأول ابن الغابات والنيل والأحراش، والثاني ابن القبائل والصحراء، والثالث ابن المدينة الصغيرة.
أنا شخصيا أحببتها وأحببت (القارورة)التي اتضح لي أنه كتبها
بعدها رغم الاختلاف بينهما من حيث الجو العام
اضافة ..
الرواية تجعلك تحمدين ربك على نعم...more
Admittedly, I only got a third into it. It didnt even seem remotely realistic, or like anything I've ever seen. More than anything else the impression I got was of a modern ,want-to-be-western, darkly pseudo-gothic muckiness transplanting itself onto arabian gulf-oil motifs. Like if something is shity enough, then it's art- ie. "modern". Problem is with banning, now people will want to read it. Reference- Nabakov, Joyce, Lawrence, Rushdie. They did him a favor spinning it like that.
I read this book in one sitting on an afternoon in the library--didn't stop until I was done. Need I say more? Al-Mohaimeed creates a sensual and unforgettable world of outcasts and misfits, and the book takes place in Saudi Arabia (banned there, BTW). It was like taking a short vacation to a strange and beautiful place. I will definitely look for more books by this author. He has been compared to Gabriel Garcia Marquez--one of my all-time favorite authors.
picked this up at the library on a whim. read it in one sitting on a plane. it is a page turner - in terms of connections/coincidences which seemed to be brewing between the narrator's past and other characters...But, it felt like something was missing when i finished...perhaps i read it too fast and actually missed 'the big connection'...not sure...but, then again, im not interested in re-reading to find out.
هذه أول رواية أقرأها للكاتب يوسف المحيميد والشهادة انها رواية سلسة ممتعة مثل حبات السبحة الملونة فرطت بسلسة ووقعت كل خرزة في مكان فكان لها قصة وعنوان. جميلة الأحداث ومتنوعة الأفكار ويشاد على الأسلوب للروائي
I chose this book because the back cover made it sound like it might be a story of hope and love and friendship set in an Arabian Nights vision of Saudi Arabia ("...three outsiders...linked by fate and trying to make lives for themselves in a predatory city..."), but I was misled. Yousef Al-Mohaimeed writes with a dark turn of phrase, painting pictures of cruelty and heart-break that carried over into my dreams, leaving me sad and lonely and melancholy the following day. I decided no...more
An interesting look at Saudi society through a fragmented narrative, principally through the eyes of a disfigured and self-pitying Bedouin. The author's descriptions of violence, though vivid, seem to encourage a kind of detachment in the reader, which is perhaps meant to illustrate man's struggle to empathize with the suffering of others.
I thought this book was interesting because of the Saudi Arabian setting, but there wasn't really much else going on. The main character, Turad, is a Bedouin lost in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Once a prolific thief, he travels to the city after losing his ear in a mysterious accident that causes him great shame. Over the course of one night, we learn why Turad feels that he is lost in a hell that he cannot escape. It is essentially a Saudi Arabian version of Crash, where the plots come...more
I'll give this a 3.75. It's probably my own fault that I couldn't follow it exactly, but it's good anyway, hypnotic until I found something else I needed to do. Probably it's best read in one sitting. The review that came with the book cover on this page tells it better than I can.
This book is fascinating and interesting because of the highly critical stance it takes on Saudi society. As such it provides a good insight on the casual injustices, discrimination and cruelty. Unfortunately, it isn’t a particularly good novel and although it is short I did struggle to feel enthused each time I picked it up. More of a duty than a pleasure.
القصة ممتعة وجديدة في فكرتها وإن كان فيهابعض التشويق المفبرك والمبالغ فيه
I very fast read. Tells about 3 male characters that have suffered a great deal. One is an abandoned baby who has one of his eyes eaten out by cats. One is a slave and eunuch. One is a man who lost his ear to a wolf while buried up to his neck in sand. They are all trying to live in a rather vicious city and are at the bottom of the social and economic totem pole.
Very dark book with the barest hint of hope at the end. I can see why the book is banned in Saudia Arabia. I felt ...more
Very dark book with the barest hint of hope at the end. I can see why the book is banned in Saudia Arabia. I felt ...more
It is great novel
Really amazing
Really amazing
هل اجد منها نسخة الكترونيه؟؟
view all 3 comments
I think this book must read better in Arabic. In translation, the changes between different voices is jarring. Nevertheless I enjoyed the gritty details of doomed lives in a culture quite different from America, yet filled with the same desperate searches for meaning, community, and respect. I enjoyed the details of life as a caravan robber in the desert the most. The bits about nature and animals were well-written, though again I would think they must be far better in the original Arabic.
رواية حلوة
فكرتها ليست جديدة ولكن مختلفة
أحببت هذه الرواية وانهيتها في أقل من يوم
في نهاية الرواية شعرت وكأن عبد خال يمر من هنا
فكرتها ليست جديدة ولكن مختلفة
أحببت هذه الرواية وانهيتها في أقل من يوم
في نهاية الرواية شعرت وكأن عبد خال يمر من هنا
Interesting stories that open the eyes a little about what the lower echelons feel like in the rich middle east.
An interesting little book, it reads like a modern allegory.
Sadiest
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers Also Enjoyed
Born in Riyadh, 1964.Has been a writer of short stories, novels, and children stories since the eighties.Some of his works, and chapters of his novels have been translated in English, Russian, Spanish and German. He has been a journalist for many years.
More about Yousef Al-Mohaimeed...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Those dogs of the hajj go to Mecca to pray when they don't possess even the decency or generosity of spirit to pardon or forgive.”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
