São Paulo – The Brazilian edition of Stories from the Center of the World—New Middle East Fiction is arriving in bookstores through Cosac publisher. The book is a selection of short stories by authors born or living in the Middle East, using fiction to portray the anxieties, loves and challenges of contemporary society. It brings together 25 stories written between 2020 and 2023 for the online magazine The Markaz Review and published in book form in 2024, edited by the magazine’s editor, Jordan Elgrably.
In his introduction to the book, Elgrably briefly traces the region’s history, particularly the division of territories that resulted in the borders known today. He revisits agreements established after World War I (1914–1918) and the interpretation of the Middle East by those who defined the region as stretching from the westernmost part of Africa to Asia, with part of its territory bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
Franco-American and Moroccan and himself the author of one of the book’s short stories, Elgrably spoke to ANBA in an email interview.
“We talk about the Arab world, but of course, the Middle East and North Africa make up a vast and complex region, and frequently each country contains a diverse population speaking multiple languages,” he said. “While we may sometimes see the Middle East as homogenous, it remains one of the most diverse regions in the world,” he added.
For Elgrably, even several years after the stories were selected and published, they remain relevant today.
“The 25 writers in this book all write from personal experience, which guarantees that readers will learn and travel by exploring their stories.,” the editor said.
The book is divided by theme into three sections: “Exiles, Émigrés, Refugees”, “The Question of Love”; and “The Roots of Heaven,” covering topics such as family, heritage, affection, love, immortality, death and displacement. Many of the authors live far from their countries of origin, which caught the editor’s attention. In his introduction, Elgrably says the writers in the book are people “from inside and outside” their countries, which also influences their writing.
Among the short stories, “The Cactus” by Muhammad Al-Naas revisits memories of an on-and-off relationship through the narrator’s stream of consciousness. “The Burden of Inheritance” by Kuwaiti author Mai Al-Nakib, is driven by family drama. Other stories also address departures and arrivals, memories and politics. The stories were translated into Portuguese from four languages: Arabic by Safa Jubran, English by Felipe Benjamin Francisco, Persian by Nicolas Voss, and French by Marília Scalzo.
Book details:
Histórias do centro do mundo – Nova ficção do Oriente Médio
Edited and introduced by Jordan Elgrably
400 pages
BRL 119,00
Publisher: Cosac
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Open call for translations of Brazilian books
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
