The Other Face of the Shadow
Rashid al-Daif
After being touched by a cloud, the Queen suddenly becomes pregnant. The King has not been near her since he married her, and now the prophecy he once saw in a dream is being fulfilled: she will give birth to a boy who is not fathered by the king, who will one day inherit the throne. The Queen flees, wandering aimlessly in the steppes and wasteland, and later gives birth to her child surrounded by nature. The King and his courtiers track her doggedly for years, convinced that they are battling a world of jin (spirits). The story unfolds in a realm of myth and superstition, until at last “the other face of the shadow” is revealed.
Publisher
Dar Al Saqi
Nomination
2024 Longlist
Rashid al-Daif
Country of origin Lebanon
About the author
Rashid al-Daif is a Lebanese writer and novelist, born in Zgharta, Lebanon, in 1945. He is Professor of Arabic Literature at the University of Lebanon and his published works include 19 novels and three poetry collections. His novel Dear Mr Kawabata (1995) has been translated into eight European languages, and Paula Haydar’s 2001 English translation of al-Daif’s This Side of Innocence (1997) received Foreword magazine’s silver award in the category of best work of fiction in translation.