الزراف Zaraf

  Translated by   ELISABETH JAQUETTE 1—Idiot The oldest boys in the neighborhood—“bullies,” as our Egyptian neighbors would say—chased that boy… chased me .   I’d long been obsessed with watching Egyptian TV shows and films, sneaking into the cinema to see them because in our house it was forbidden… “forbidden, boy, to go there.ˮ According to my mother, grandmother, and the other women in the neighborhood, screens are the devil’s handiwork: they corrupt good boys and girls. Of course, they’re poor women, without an ounce of luck.  Since we’ve mentioned girls, the truth is that I’m as afraid of them as of the boys who chase me, but it’s another type of fear. It’s more like dread, the idea of standing in front of an incredibly beautiful girl and saying to her, as people do, “I love you.ˮ I’ve practiced a lot in the bathroom while masturbating, but nothing’s changed; white water flows, mixing with the poorly made soap, and in the end, I realize that I’ve lost the image of the girl who wal

  Ossama Lotfy Fateem   , Tuesday 13 Dec 2022 Ila New York fi 87 Yawman (To New York in 87 Days), Emad Blake, Alexandria: Ibiidi Publishing, 2019 Share Facebook X WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn   The sea has always been an inspiration for writers. Commanding ships, reaching ports, and living the non-traditional life between land and sea were pictured mostly as a triumph for mankind over the sea. Novels like Moby Dick, Treasure Island, The Oldman and the Sea -- to name a few -- are masterpieces that continue to inspire readers and writers alike. In their footsteps Emad Blake wrote To New York in 87 Days. The novel presents two facts: the first Omani and Arab ship, Al Sultana, to reach New York was in 1840; and the main character Ahmed Ben Nooman Al-Kaabi was the chief officer of the ship.  In the book, the reader cannot tell facts from fiction. The author manages to get the reader involved in the journey, its details, and the characters that were instrumental in making the trip a success. I