Wolves of the Crescent Moon

September 24, 2007
Three tales of Arab outcasts make up this fresh-voiced debut novel by Saudi Arabian author Al-Mohaimeed. A one-eared Bedouin tribesman named Turad quits his humiliating 13-year job as a low-level ministry servant and ends up at the Riyadh bus station with a plan to flee, but no destination in mind. While he figures out where he wants to go, two additional voices join the narrative. One is the memory of Turad's elderly co-worker at the ministry, Tawfiq, whose sad story begins when he was a child and his Sudanese village was attacked by slave traders. Tawfiq was later captured, raped, castrated and performed the services of a eunuch until he grew too old to be of use. The other voice is from a discarded official file Turad finds at the bus station. It involves a one-eyed orphan named Nasir, who is sexually abused by the staff at the orphanage where he grows up and is eventually denied his ambition of becoming a soldier. Al-Mohaimeed's work, assisted by Calderbank's faultless translation, beautifully captures the frustrations and resentments of his tormented characters.

October 15, 2007
In his short, poetic debut, Saudia Arabian-born Al-Mohaimeed explores the lives of three misfits in his native country's capital of Riyadh. First, there is Turad, a Bedouin who lost an ear; next is Tawfik, a former Sudanese slave who was castrated; and finally, Nasir, an orphan who is missing one eye. As Turad, who was fired from his job after being humiliated at work, sits in the bus station, trying to buy a ticket to anywhere, he contemplates their lives, which have intersected at various times. Mythslike the story of a young woman impregnated by the moon after she hung her underwear to dry by its light or the tale of rival Bedouin thieves wrestling until they become like brothersmeld with the realities of the underbelly of society in Saudi Arabia, where Al-Mohaimeed's protagonists have no status and little opportunity. His exploration of men who have lost pieces of themselves yet struggle to survive swirls with a richness of language and imagery. Banned in Saudi Arabia and deserving of a large audience, it is recommended for most literary fiction collections.Andrea Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.