The Tumour
Ibrahim al-Koni
The Tumour (Arab Institute for Publishing and Studies, Beirut, 2008), by Libyan author Ibrahim al-Koni, is a profound and symbolic philosophical exploration. It dissects the concept of authority - the ruler and the ruled and the balance of power between the two. The author explores the relationship between man and existence, exposing the vulnerability of man in the wilderness of the world.
Nomination
2009 Longlist
Ibrahim al-Koni
Country of origin Libya
About the author
Ibrahim al-Koni was born in 1948 in the desert of the Tuareg, Libya. He grew up there, not learning to read or write Arabic until he was 12 years old. He studied comparative literature at the Gorky Institute in Moscow, and was a journalist in Moscow and Warsaw. He has lived in Switzerland since 1993, and written over 60 novels, short stories, poems and aphorisms, all inspired by the desert. Some works have been translated into 35 languages, including eight into German and six into French.