Valentina Colombo Libros

Naguib Mahfouz's haunting novella of post-revolutionary Egypt combines a vivid pychological portrait of an anguished man with the suspense and rapid pace of a detective story.After four years in prison, the skilled young thief Said Mahran emerges bent on revenge. He finds a world that has changed in more ways than one. Egypt has undergone a revolution and, on a more personal level, his beloved wife and his trusted henchman, who conspired to betray him to the police, are now married to each other and are keeping his six-year-old daughter from him. But in the most bitter betrayal, his mentor, Rauf Ilwan, once a firebrand revolutionary who convinced Said that stealing from the rich in a unjust society is an act of justice, is now himself a rich man, a respected newspaper editor who wants nothing to do with the disgraced Said. As Said's wild attempts to achieve his idea of justice badly misfire, he becomes a hunted man so driven by hatred that he can only recognize too late his last chance at redemption.

Chicas de Riad se publico en Libano en 2005, tras ser prohibido en Arabia Saudi, el pais natal de la autora. En pocos meses se vendieron mas de cien mil ejemplares y se desato un acalorado debate entre los politicos, intelectuales y criticos del mundo arabe. Al mismo tiempo, la novela entro en el mercado negro a un precio diez veces superior al de las librerias y desperto un gran interes internacional, vendiendose a once paises. En su debut literario, Rajaa Alsanea habla de aquello sobre lo que en su entorno deberia guardarse silencio: cuatro chicas jovenes que ansian vivir y amar y que no pueden hacerlo porque la tradicion no preve felicidad alguna para la mujer. A pesar de ello, Sadim, Kamra, Michelle y Lamis intentan alcanzarla, cada una a su modo, y el resultado es una tragicomedia que emociona, conmueve y hechiza. "Chicas de Riad" nos acerca a las cuatro protagonistas en toda su dimension: sus experiencias amorosas, su carrera profesional y sus enfrentamientos con unas costumbres demasiado rigidas. Una original e inolvidable vision de las complejas vidas de una cultura y un mundo completamente distintos de los nuestros.

La raccolta riunisce trentuno racconti, tradotti per la prima volta direttamente dall'arabo, tra cui alcuni inediti anche nei paesi di provenienza, di scrittrici arabe. Racconti talvolta spregiudicati, capaci di affrontare temi come il sesso, l'apostasia, la poligamia, l'attuale situazione irachena in maniera netta, decisa, senza ricorrere allo pseudonimo. Racconti che smentiscono tanti pregiudizi sulle donne arabe e danno voce alle protagoniste: quell'altra metà del cielo imprescindibile per comprendere la sfaccettata realtà del mondo arabo.