The Bookseller's Notebooks by Jalal Barjas

The Bookseller's Notebooks is the English translation of Jordanian author Jalal Barjas's novel, which won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2021. Its hero, Ibrahim al-Warraq, is a cultured bookseller and avid reader who, after losing his livelihood and his home, goes to live among the homeless and starts taking on the identities of characters from his favourite novels.

Spanning the years 1947 to 2019 and built from a series of interlinked notebooks, the novel draws together people who have lost their homes or never known their families. Translated by Paul G. Starkey, it explores loneliness, mental illness, justice and belonging, and suits readers of contemporary Arabic literature in translation.

• Author: Jalal Barjas
• Translator: Paul G. Starkey
• Publisher: Interlink Books
• Format: Paperback, 324 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9781623718206