Sunset Oasis
ABOUT
THE BOOK
As the 19th century draws to a close, the politically disgraced Mahmoud Abd El Zahir takes up his post as District Commissioner of the remote and dangerous Egyptian oasis of Siwa, knowing he has no choice. The hostile, warring natives are no surprise – but little did he expect to fall in love, his Irish wife to alienate the entire community, or a local beauty to prove a fatal ally. As the gulf between occupier and occupied, husband and wife, dreams and reality widens, tensions reach boiling point.
ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Humphrey
T Davies
Humphrey T. Davies was a British translator of Arabic fiction, historical and classical texts. Born in Great Britain, he studied Arabic in college and graduate school. He worked for decades in the Arab world and was based in Cairo from the late 20th century to 2021.
Humphrey T. Davies was a British translator of Arabic fiction, historical and classical texts. Born in Great Britain, he studied Arabic in college and graduate school. He worked for decades in the Arab world and was based in Cairo from the late 20th century to 2021.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
Baha Taher is one of the outstanding Arabic writers. In 2008 he won the first Arabic Booker Prize with his novel Sunset Oasis, published in Arabic. Sunset Oasis deals with the adventures of a luckless civil servant under the British occupation, who is sent together with his Irish wife to Siva oasis in the desert. Catherine is an enthusiastic hobby archaeologist who succeeds in alienating the entire community against herself and her husband. the expedition into the desert of Egypt ends ups in a wholesale existential crisis for both Catherine and Mahmoud, the grave digger and the unhappy police officer.