Somehow, I thought I could quickly track down each of these 100 titles, translate them (roughly), note whether or not an English translation or excerpt exists, and be done with it.

Apparently, my eyes were bigger than my…fingers?

So here you have it! The first 10 of the best hundred Arab novels selected by the Arab Writers Union. Tomorrow, insha’allah, the second 10.

1 The Cairo Trilogy by Egyptian (Nobel-prize winning) author Naguib Mahfouz. Yes, of course it’s available in English: Trans. William Maynard Hutchins, Everyman’s Library, 2001.

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