Alia Mamdouh (also spelled Aliyah Mamduh) (born 1944) is an
Iraqi novelist, author, and journalist living in exile in
Paris,
France.
She won the 2004
Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for her novel ''The Loved Ones''.
She is most known for her widely acclaimed and translated book ''Naphtalene'', originally written in Arabic. Her 2020 novel ''The Tank'' was shortlisted for the
International Prize for Arabic Fiction
The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) ( ar, الجائزة العالمية للرواية العربية) is the most prestigious and important literary prize in the Arab world.
Its aim is to reward excellence in contemporary Arabic ...
.
Mamdouh was born in
Baghdad,
Iraq in 1944. After completing her degree in psychology from the
University of Mustansiriya
Mustansiriyah University (Arabic: الجامعة المستنصرية) is a university in Baghdad, Iraq.
History
The original Mustansiriya Madrasah was established in 1227 (or 1232/34 A.D. by some accounts) by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustansir ...
in 1971, while at the same time working as editor-in-chief of
Al Rasid magazine and editor of al-Fikr al-mua’sir magazine, Mamdouh decided to move in 1982. She has since lived in
Beirut,
Morocco, and finally
Paris, where she currently lives. She continues to write.
She cites
Albert Camus as an influence.
Works
* ''Overture for Laughter'' (short stories) (1973)
* ''Habbat-al-Naphatalin / Naphtalene: A Novel of Baghdad'' (Original Arabic published by al-Hay'ah al-Masriah Al-Amah lil-Kitab, Cairo, 1986; Arabic translation published by Garnet in 1986 by
Peter Theroux
Peter Christopher Sebastian Theroux (born 1956) is an American translator and writer. The younger brother of writers Alexander Theroux and Paul Theroux, during college Peter studied for a year at the University of Cairo. He became interested in Ar ...
)
* ''ftitahiya lil Dahik (Prelude to Laughter)'' (1971)
* ''Hawamish ilal Sayyida Ba (Notes to Mrs. B)'' (1973)
* ''Layla wa Al-Dhib (Laila and the Wolf)'' (1981)
* ''Habbat Al-Naftalin (Mothballs)'' (1986)
* ''Al-Wala (Passion)'' (1993)
* ''Al-Ghulama (The Maiden'') (2000)
* ''The Loved Ones'' (2003)
* ''Al-Mahbubat'' (2005)
* ''The Tank'' (2020)
Mamdouh writes in Arabic, and two of her works have been translated to English: ''Naphtalene'' (translated by Peter Thereoux) and ''The Loved Ones'' (translated by
Marilyn Booth).
Most Mamdouh's books are about Iraq, though she has lived abroad for decades. On the idea of writing about her country while outside of it, she has stated: "Every day I look at my country’s situation and depict its virtues and delights, atrocities and grievances in each novel....I did not leave it, and so it did not leave me."
Her first novel, ''Naphtalene,'' published soon after she left Iraq, tells the story of a young girl growing up in Baghdad in the 1940s and 1950s.
See also
*
Iraqi literature Iraqi literature or Mesopotamian literature dates back to Sumerian times, which constitutes the earliest known corpus of recorded literature, including the religious writings and other traditional stories maintained by the Sumerian civilization an ...
Full list of winners and nominees for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction
References
External links
An Excerpt from Alia Mamdouh’s ''The Tank''Article on Alia Mamdouh
1944 births
Living people
Iraqi writers
Iraqi women writers
Iraqi emigrants to France
Recipients of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature
Writers from Baghdad
Iraqi journalists
Iraqi people of Syrian descent
Al-Mustansiriya University alumni
{{Iraq-writer-stub