I Sweep the Sun Off Rooftops

Rating:
Summary: Not Her Best Work...
Review: After having read and taught the book, "Women of Sand and Myrrh," I expected more from this collection of short stories. While there are a couple of really shining gems in this collection -- notably the story "A Season of Madness" -- there are many stories which are patly superfluous, and contain very little in the way of plot or character development. Hanan al-Shaykh has the potential to write heart-rending, unforgettable stories -- but this volume is not the best representation of her abilities.

Rating:
Summary: Robust, diverse look at lives of women in Arab countries
Review: Although the backgrounds of the women in these stories are diverse, from an educated Europeanized Arab woman, modern and not-so-modern women living in Arab countries, and a European refugee into Arab lands, they share similar concerns: alientation, fear of being consumed by marriage and/or men, the conflict between independence (the West) and security (the Mid East/Islamic).

The stories are neither happy nor sad, but thoughtful and deep, with more a sense of melancholy hanging over them. The author's narrative style is mostly straightforward, and frequently told from a female perspective. Men are not the bogeyman, but often seemed caught in their own constructed lives as well.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully woven short stories from an amazing writer¿
Review: Each and every story in this book is a complete joy to read. The stories are melancholic in tunes, very deep and thoughtful. They let you hang between dream and reality - but the ending always drags you back to reality. Set in Yemen, Egypt, London and other unknown places that Shaykh leaves to the reader's imagination.

Shaykh portrays the struggle of Arab/Arab-Muslim woman whether modern or non-modern in a very delicate way. She mostly writes from a female point of view - some of her characters are deep, educated and others are naïve. Men are not always the bad characters.

I read it in one day. One story drags you to the other. A must read for those interested in translated Middle Eastern literature.