Set during the 1930s, in the small town of Tarrana in the Nile Delta region of Egypt, Stones of Bobello revolves around nine episodes in the life of a sensitive young Christian boy. Its montage of philosophical, mystical, and psychological perspectives highlights various struggles—between man and woman, Copt and Muslim, dream and reality. The narrative unfolds in a moving, lyrical language that exalts the most mundane of events, and brings to life the torpid climate of the Delta. Its richness endows the book with moments of erotic fantasy, creating an imaginative space where dreams and memories flourish. “More Proust than Durrell, and I think worthy of the comparison.”—Doris Lessing, The Independent “A rich and rare achievement, gem-clear, mysteriously shimmering.”—The Guardian

Edwar al-Kharrat was born in Alexandria in 1926. Among his awards are the prestigious Oweiss Prize (the Arab world’s highest mark of acclaim for writers and intellectuals) and the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for his novel Rama and the Dragon (AUC Press, 2002). He was awarded the state merit Award for Literature in 2000. PAUL STARKEY teaches Arabic language and literature at the University of Durham, where he is currently director of the Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. He is the author of a study of the Egyptian author Tawfiq al-Hakim and co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature. He has also translated Rashid al-Daif’s novel Dear Mr Kawabata into English.