This reader consists of the full Arabic text of 11 carefully chosen and very readable short stories by established Egyptian, Iraqi, Syrian and Jordanian writers. The earliest story, written in 1929, is by the Egyptian Mahmud Tahir Lashin; the most recent by the Iraqi writer, Fuad al-Takarli, written in 1972. Each story has an introduction, in English, with biographical information about the author, placing him in his literary context, a description of the contents and a brief analysis of the story itself. In addition, each story is accompanied by a critical literary analysis. The aim of this...

A fascinating study of a popular and vital genre often overlooked by literary critics.