Related books set in Middle East

[Ciara]

Well, this isn't exactly a discussion but I love that most of Hosseini's books are set in different countries in the Middle East(for the most part), but I can't find any similar books set in those areas. Do any of you have any suggestions of books set in the Middle East, Asia, or even Africa that are good reads?
If you do please list them.

[Joy]

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
It's about a hospital in Ethiopia in the 1950s. The midwife who works there is Indian and the surgeon also spent time in India. It can be difficult to get into the book because the background of the characters is established at the start, but it is an amazing book and well worth the read.

[Ciara]

Joy wrote: "Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
It's about a hospital in Ethiopia in the 1950s. The midwife who works there is Indian and the surgeon also spent time in India. I..."
Thanks so much! I'll check it out.

[Jo]

The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez About group of women who become friends in Afganistan set in and around her coffee shop during the Taliban reign

[Ciara]

Jo wrote: "The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez About group of women who become friends in Afganistan set in and around her coffee shop during the Taliban reign"

Awesome! Thanks for the reference.

[Ellie]

There are groups dedicated to listing books per country - I'm in one which I think is called 80 Books around the World or Around the World in Books. Very informative for finding books for different countries.

Otherwise there is The Girls of Riyadh which covers Saudi.

Harraga is set in Algeria. I've yet to read it but reviews are good.

I'll have a look and see what else I've read or got saved to read. I'm also interested in this part of the world.

[Ellie]

There's also the The Jewel in the Crown (part of the Raj Quarter) set in India. It's set in the early part of the last century but is very evocative of the time.

[Ciara]

I'm currently reading Girls of Riyadhand thanks for the options. You seem like you have great taste in books.

[Anita]

The Syrian Virgin and Anissa's Redemption by Zack Love
Is a contemporary romance about a young woman's escape and journey away from the Syrian War to finding a new life and love in New York.

[Ciara]

Anita wrote: "The Syrian Virgin and Anissa's Redemption by Zack Love ..."
Thanks! It's going on my summer reading list.

[Patrícia]

What the Day Owes the Night

I've read What the Day Owes the Night, by Yasmina Khadra. It's a wonderful book, set in Algeria.

[Ciara]

Patrícia wrote: "What the Day Owes the Night

Thank you so much for commenting. Seems like a wonderful book. Great suggestion. Going to my to-read list.

[Patricia]

Also have a look at The Pearl that Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi. It tells the story from the point of view of young girls and women growing up in Kabul. One of the characters is a 'bacha posh' (which is where a girl is dressed as a boy by her parents while she is young in order to give her more freedom)
The Pearl That Broke It's Shell is fiction, but the non-fiction version is covered in The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan by Jenny Nordberg.

[Inga]

Alaa Al Aswany is a great Egyptian writer. I especially loved his book "The Yacoubian Building" set in Egypt, of course. And I would also recommend one of the greatest Egyptian writers Naguib Mahfouz, he is well known across the Middle East and beyond - his work "the Cairo Trilogy".

[Nora]

I got into it right away and was curious because Cheryl is the wife of Ron Howard. Really liked it.

[Cin]

Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes behind the Veil
The Story of My Life by Farah Ahmedi

[Anita]

Anissa of Syria
This is a "clean read" edition of The Syrian Virgin (i.e., this version has no profanity and just a few, brief scenes of minimally described intimacy without reference to any explicit details or sexual anatomy). Due to war themes, this book is not recommended for readers under 16.