Saud Al Sanousi. Pawan Singh / The National
Saud Al Sanousi. Pawan Singh / The National

Ten books to read in 2015



FICTION

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (March)

To say that a new Ishiguro book is eagerly awaited is an understatement. The multi-award-­winning author of The Remains of the Day hasn't published a novel for 10 years. The short-­fiction collection Nocturnes was all we have had since Never Let Me Go in 2005.

As in that million-selling novel, Ishiguro remains in a dystopian world with The Buried Giant, but this time it is Arthurian Britain after the Romans have departed. With a fantasy, fable-like feel, there's a quest for an estranged son and encounters with knights and dragons – not usual Ishiguro territory, but intriguing ­nonetheless.

Incidentally, it took 10 years to complete because his wife made him rewrite it. Thankfully, she likes this version.

Purity by Jonathan Franzen (September)

Like Ishiguro, it's been a while since we've heard anything from one of the most celebrated authors of the 21st century. And similarly, Franzen's new novel – ­released five years on from 2010's Freedom – is something of a stylistic departure for the author of the influential The ­Corrections.

His publisher told The New York Times that Purity – which follows the titular young woman as she searches for her father in contemporary America, South America and East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall – has a "fabulist quality ... it's not strict realism. There's a mythic undertone to the story."

Nevertheless, it promises all the Franzen tropes we’ve come to know and love – family histories and secrets, and achingly sharp insights into the modern world.

Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh (May)

This is the final part of Ghosh's bestselling Ibis trilogy, which began with Sea of Poppies in 2008 and was followed three years ­later in River of Smoke.

It continues his stories of South Asian seafaring hopefuls caught up in the opium trade of the mid-19th century – this time it's 1839 and The Hind sets sail from Bengal for China, to take part in the First Opium War.

Bringing together his usual cast of fascinating characters, the seafarers include a poor sailor searching for his lost love, a company of Indian sepoys and a widow desperate to reclaim her husband’s wealth and reputation.

Meticulous in its historical detail yet committed to satisfying storytelling, this should be a fitting end to a remarkable series.

Chaos of the Senses by Ahlem Mosteghanemi, translated by Nancy Roberts (January)

You don't have to wait long for one of the biggest books by an Arab writer to surface this year. The follow-up to the Algerian author Mosteghanemi's international bestseller The Bridges of Constantine is out in English in just two weeks and, once again, it provides a vivid portrait of Algeria in the midst of civil war.

Chaos of the Senses has all of the hallmarks that have made Mosteghanemi the most successful female writer in the Arab world – forbidden love, political strife, strong female characters and plenty of commentary on the nature of freedom.

When we spoke to her last, she had three million Facebook followers. She’s doubled that in only 13 months. Influential.

A Spool of Blue Thread

Anne Tyler (February)

Jonathan Franzen might steal the literary headlines this year, but it’s actually the increasingly large pool of fantastic American women writers that is really ­noteworthy.

From a much-anticipated debut novel by director Miranda July to new work from the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Toni Morrison, Jane Smiley and Anne Tyler, there’s plenty to look forward to, and Tyler certainly heads the class.

A Spool of Blue Thread is classic Tyler. Forty years on from her first novel, she's still unpicking American life, this time working through three generations of an ordinary Baltimore family who "like most families ... imagined they were special."

No one depicts domestic life quite like Tyler, and it will be sad indeed if she goes through with her threat to make this her final novel.

The Illuminations by Andrew O'Hagan (February)

Highly regarded work from Kevin Powers, Ben Fountain and Michael Pitre suggests there is something of a genre developing in distraught servicemen returning to the West from overseas wars. So it will be fascinating to see how the Booker-nominated Scotsman approaches the story of a captain who comes back from a tour of duty in Afghanistan to visit his grandmother, Anne, who was a pioneer of documentary photography.

It turns out she has a secret story that begins to emerge, which opens up a tale of love and regret, pain and sacrifice.

O'Hagan's previous book – written from the perspective of Marilyn Monroe's dog – divided opinion, but early talk suggests The Illuminations has him right back on form.

She Will Build Him a City by Raj Kamal Jha (February)

It can sometimes feel a little like any Indian author writing in English is automatically categorised as peddling "state of India today" narratives. But when the celebrated author Pankaj Mishra calls She Will Build Him a City "the best novel from and about India that I have read in a long time", it's worth sitting up and taking notice.

Kamal Jha ambitiously draws a fractured picture of life in Delhi, with his interwoven characters tangled up in secret love and murderous intentions set against the exceedingly rich and the crushingly poor. You'd expect the chief editor of The Indian Express to know his patch, of course, but Kamal Jha shows that he understands the importance of compelling storytelling, too.

The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Al Sanousi, translated by Jonathan Wright (April)

The latest winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction to be translated, Al Sanousi’s book is the most relevant novel for English-speaking readers based in the Middle East in some time.

A timely look at foreign workers in the Arabian Gulf, a Filipino maid falls in love with a Kuwaiti man and they have a child. The embarrassment leads to ­mother and son leaving for the Philippines. When the child finally returns to Kuwait and begins to fit in, his history is revealed, causing further shame for the ­father’s family.

The Bamboo Stalk is a novel about identity and a search for home and Al Sanousi was widely praised for making the original Arabic version so accessible – and, at times, amusing. If Jonathan Wright can translate that tone to the English version, it could well be one of the ­biggest-selling translations from the region of the year.

NON FICTION

Reading the World: Confessions of a Literary Explorer by Ann Morgan (February)

It was a wonderfully simple idea. When London hosted the Olympics in 2012, Morgan set herself the challenge of reading a book from every one of the world's 196 independent countries. A Year of Reading the World began as a blog, on which she asked people to recommend a list of books – classics or contemporary – from which she would choose one to read from each country. That's not as easy as it might sound when some countries barely have anything that has been translated into English. Reading the World is the product of her journey and it explores big questions about the nature and power of storytelling, as well as celebrating literature from around the world. Sounds fascinating and we won't spoil it by revealing the choice from the UAE.

Visitants by Dave Eggers (March)

One of the most satisfying developments in Dave Eggers' career is how far he's spread his wings from the Californian microcosm of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

What Is the What was largely based in Sudan, Zeitoun was about a Syrian-American caught up in Hurricane Katrina and A Hologram for the King was all the better for Eggers' proper insight into the Arabian Peninsula.

So it’s great to see this first collection of travel writing begin with him speeding across the desert of Saudi Arabia at 140 kph with a maniacal hired driver.

He also takes in Syria, South Sudan, Cuba, Thailand and Croatia on this endearing and humane jaunt across the world – but it’s the characters he meets along the way who become the stars rather than Eggers himself.

artslife@thenational.ae

Company%20Profile
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Rainbow

Kesha

(Kemosabe)

What drives subscription retailing?

Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.

The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.

The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.

The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.

UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.

That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.

Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)

FORSPOKEN
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Suicide%20Squad%3A%20Kill%20the%20Justice%20League
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Final%20Fantasy%20XVI
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Street%20Fighter%206
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Diablo%20IV
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Baldur's%20Gate%203
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The%20Legend%20of%20Zelda%3A%20Tears%20of%20The%20Kingdom
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Marvel's%20Spider-Man%202
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Assassin's%20Creed%20Mirage
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Starfield
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Cinco in numbers

Dh3.7 million

The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown

46

The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.

1,000

The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]

50

How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday

3,000

The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

1.1 million

The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.

Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

The Bio

Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees  (oats with chicken) is one of them

Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.

Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results

During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks

Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy

Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

MATCH INFO

Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD

* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10

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Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books 

Company%20profile
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A German university was a good fit for the family budget

Annual fees for the Technical University of Munich - £600

Shared rental accommodation per month depending on the location ranges between  £200-600

The family had budgeted for food, books, travel, living expenses - £20,000 annually

Overall costs in Germany are lower than the family estimated 

As proof that the student has the ability to take care of expenses, international students must open a blocked account with about £8,640

Students are permitted to withdraw £720 per month

At Eternity’s Gate

Director: Julian Schnabel

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen

Three stars

Leaderboard

63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)

64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)

66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)

67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)

68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)

69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

The biog

Hometown: Cairo

Age: 37

Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror

Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing

Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition

The biog

Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren

Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies

Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan

Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India 

 

Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy

The specs

Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic

Power: 375bhp

Torque: 520Nm

Price: Dh332,800

On sale: now

if you go
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

BRIEF SCORES:

Toss: Nepal, chose to field

UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23

Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17

Result: UAE won by 21 runs

Series: UAE lead 1-0

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Abu%20Dhabi%E2%80%99s%20Racecard
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