Honey Hunger

"Zahran Alqasmi portrays the inimitable lifeways deep in Oman’s mountainous interior as no other writer does. We can taste and smell the sweet pungency of the natural world that this powerful writing brings forth. In this exceptional narrative, hunger for honey portends hunger for the unknown: Alqasmi’s characters are ever on the move to discover who they are by means of searching for the ever-elusive mountain honey."—Jokha Alharthi, author of Celestial Bodies

"Alqasmi uses simple, elegant language to describe Azzan’s beekeeping tasks and the dramatic landscape, two motifs to which his narrative keeps returning."—Booklist

"Literary takes on the human experience. . . . Azzan exhibits external quiet and calm, but his thoughts are revelatory, illuminating his ardent passion for beekeeping. . . . Also expansive are the story’s discursive shifts to explore the backstories, griefs, and yearnings of Azzan’s wide circle of acquaintances amassed through his beekeeping." —Isabella Zhou, Foreword Reviews

"The storytelling is poetic, creative, and striking."—Al-Quds Al-Arabi

PRAISE FOR ZAHRAN ALQASMI:

"Rich yet accessible prose"—The National

"Sensitive poetic language . . . transports us"—Mohammed Achaari, International Prize for Arabic Fiction Judge

PRAISE FOR MARILYN BOOTH:

"Words touch down delicately on each page. . . . formidable"—Electric Literature (on Bitter Orange Tree)

"Gorgeously translated"—The Washington Post (on Bitter Orange Tree)

"Booth’s translation honors the elliptical rhythms of Arabic and the language’s rich literary heritage. She imbues the book’s numerous poetic extracts with lyricism and devotedly preserves the rhymes and cadences of its proverbs."—The New York Times (on Celestial Bodies)

"The estimable Marilyn Booth"—The New Yorker (on Girls of Riyadh)