An intriguing novel by Emirati author, Asma Al Zarouni, which explores Arab culture is now available to English-speaking audiences after being translated from Arabic to English, according to an article online by Gulf News.
The novel, entitled ‘Killing Me Once More’ (in English) will give non-Arab people a new perspective into Arab society, culture and life.
The protagonist, Nora, is an Emirati college student who concedes to her family’s wishes of marrying a distant cousin so that she is not ostracised by her family, even though she is in love with a Kuwaiti poet.
Through Nora’s tale, the novel reflects on Arab traditions and the relationship between modernity, traditionalism, new technology and independent thinking.
Asma Al Zarouni was born in Sharjah. She holds a Bachelor of Education degree and has published seventeen books, some of which have been translated into other languages, but ‘Killing Me Once More’ is the first of her novels to be translated into English.
“Since my childhood, I loved writing, and in the beginning, I would draw with my fingers on the sand on the beach, and so the sea was my fantasy. My first title that I published – Whispering of the Beaches – was in 1994, and from then, my writings continued and the topics diversified,” said Asma.
“As a writer, one of my biggest dreams was to have some of my books translated, and thanks to an initiative by the Sharjah Book Authority, I did have one of my novels translated into seven languages, not including English,” she added.
“Then came the novel Killing Me Once More, which was published in 2016, originally in Arabic. I had a signing ceremony for the book at the Sharjah International Book Fair, and Dr Abdullah Al Taiyeb, a Saudi writer and translator, told me he would translate this book for me into English,” she explained.
Al Taiyeb, is a novelist, short story writer, and noted translator of contemporary fiction and he coordinated between Asma and several American publishing houses so that the novel could be translated and published for an English-speaking audience.
Asma believes that many non-Arabs are “yearning for Arab literary books” so she is thrilled about its publication.
The book is available on Amazon (although it is obviously proving popular with the English-speaking audience, as stocks are already running low) and with US-based publishing house Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Agency.
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