Stones of Bobello

by Edwar al-Kharrat, Paul Starkey (Translator)

Set during the 1930s in the small town of Tarrana in the Nile Delta region of Egypt, Stones of Bobello revolves around the life of a sensitive young Christian boy.

Its montage of nostalgic, psychological and mythical perspectives highlights various tensions – between man and woman, Copt and Muslim, dream and reality.

The torpid climate of the Delta is the setting for this bewitching coming-of-age tale, charged with erotic fantasy and richly imbued with those imaginative oases where dreams and memories flourish.

Edwar Al-Kharrat is a novelist, poet, critic, translator and editor. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1926. Among his awards are the prestigious Oweiss Prize (the Arab world's largest prize for writers and intellectuals) and the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature. He was awarded the State Merit Award for Literature in 2000.

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Edwar al-Kharrat (or Edward al-Kharrat; Arabic: إدوار الخراط) was an Egyptian translator, writer, and editor of several literary magazines.

Reviews

[Yassin Omar يس · Rating 4 out of 5]

جميلة أوي في جوها وأماكنها والأوصاف والسرد، ورجعتني لأيام جميلة مع جدتي زمان

[Amal A · Rating 1 out of 5]

كنت أرى أنه ليس من حق القارئ تقييم الكتاب إلا إذا انتهى من قراءته كلّيًا، إلا إنني، مع هذا الكتاب، سأكسر قاعدتي الثابتة هذه لأقيّم الكتاب ما دون الجيد وأنا لم أقرأ إلا الفصل الأول. لغة مشوّشة، ضائعة، غامضة، ولا أرى في الكتابة الغامضة احترامٌ للقارئ.

[Magda Magdy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tantalizing read, extremely well-written, filled with existential reveries and perceptive meandering thoughts.

[Ahmed Elsherbiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fragmentary and innocent like your childhood memories. Beautiful and erotic and heartbreaking. As much lyrical as it is dense, and as much lofty as it is earthly.