Jokha ALharthi is an Academic and novelist and has published ten books. Alharthi is the first Arab Author to win the Man Booker International Prize (Celestial Bodies). You know by default that this will be a hard read, an emotional read but a book very much worthwhile.

Alharthi's new novel begins with two Omani women Ghazaala and Asiya. Both are raised together as almost sisters but separated when Asiya is forced to leave the town. Following Ghazaala's life and the journal of another woman name Harir, Alharthi creates a simple yet terribly complex story of childhood, loss and women's friendship through short vignettes. A beautiful story worth sharing with any of your friends!

.#catapult #softskullpress #silkengazelles #jokhaalharthi #manbookerprize

two little girls playing beneath a cow called Beloved. a teenage girl having her first kiss in the stairs of her apartment building. a familiar voice on the radio. Set mostly in Oman, Silken Gazelles is a series of vignettes and memories about girlhood, sisterhood, and female friendships. The prose demands complete focus, but it's so worth it. Highly recommend to fans of Fiona and Jane, My Brilliant Friend, and The Mothers.
- quote I loved: "Heart! Get yourself up and out of this abyss."