8 Best Arabic Books To Read

Here you will get a list of the best Arabic books. In this list, we added some famous books of Arabic literature. If you are interested in Arab literature’s best literary works, you must read this book list. Let’s check out the books list.

1. Season of Migration to the North (موسم الهجرة إلى الشمال)

Tayeb Salih is a famous Sudanese novelist. Season of Migration to the North is one of his great works. This book is considered one of the best colonial Arabic classic novels. Arabic to English literary translator Denys Johnson-Davies translated this book into English. This book was first published in 1966. This book is a vibrant and sensual work of deep honesty and incandescent lyricism. This book was selected as the most important Arab novel of the twentieth century by famous Arab writers and critics.

2. Palace Walk (بین القصرین)

Palace Walk is a remarkable novel in Arabic literature. This book is the first book of the Cairo Trilogy by eminent Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz. بین القصرین is the original title of this book and first published in 1956. Palace Walk tells the story of the fascinating saga of a Muslim family in Cairo. This book’s story is set in the early 1900s during Egypt’s occupation by British forces.

3. Cities of Salt (مدن الملح)

Abdel Rahman Munif was a famous Saudi novelist. He wrote many novels which are so familiar to the Arab literature readers. Cities of Salt is one of his great works. The original title of this book is Mudun al-Milh (مدن الملح). Cities of Salt book translated by the famous American writer and translator Peter Theroux. This book was first published in 1984.

4. Palace of Desire (قصر الشوق)

Cairo Trilogy is one of the great works by famous Egyptian writer and novelist Naguib Mahfouz. Place of Desire is the second book of the Cario Trilogy series. I hope you will enjoy this book a lot. Qasr el-Shoq (قصر الشوق) is the original title of this book and first published in 1957.

5. The Yacoubian Building (عمارة يعقوبيان)

Alaa-Al-Aswan is a famous Egyptian novelist. The Yacoubian Building is a famous novel by Alaa-Al-Aswan. Humphrey T. Davies is mainly a translator; he translated this book into English. The original title is Imarat Yaqubian and was first published in 2002. In 2006, this book was adapted into a film of the same title.

6. The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist (الوقائع الغريبة في اختفاء سعيد أبي النحس المتشائل)

The author of this book, Emile Habibi, was an Israeli Arab writer of Arabic literature. Emile Shukri Habibi is his full name. The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist book was originally a satirical fiction book. This book was first published in 1974. The narration of this book is set at the time before 1980. It was about the issue of the lack of creativity in Arabic literature.

7. Frankenstein in Baghdad (فرانكشتاين في بغداد)

Famous Iraqi author Ahmed Saadawi wrote Frankenstein in a Baghdad novel. This book is considered one of the best horror fiction books. The Frankenstein in Baghdad book was initially published in 2013. Jonathan Wright translated this book into English.

8. The Bamboo Stalk (ساق البامبو)

Kuwaiti novelist and journalist Saud Al-Sanousi wrote this book. ساق البامبو is the Arabic title of this book, first published in 2012. British translator Jonathan Wright translated this book into English, and the English title of this book is The Bamboo Stalk.

These books are so popular to the Arab literature readers. If you are interested in reading these books, you can collect and enjoy these. I hope you will like these books.