Three Stories: “Hassan al-Mazaz al-Shaghouri’s Final Victory” “Taboo” “Eat of the Delicacies We Have Bestowed Upon You”

"The three stories here, 'Hassan al-Mazaz al-Shaghouri’s Final Victory,' 'Taboo,' and 'Eat of the Delicacies We Have Bestowed Upon You' represent Tamer’s use of unornamented language that condenses into highly sarcastic tales, dotted with witty humor about the ongoing oppression of people in the Arab World. The writing puts into play the authoritarian power of coercion, yet at the same time is highly critical of the failures of both the individual and society, whose responses have been tamed and molded. Such themes are recurrent throughout Tamer’s work, which includes 11 collections of short stories. Now, at 85, Zakaria Tamer is still able to generate literary 'newness,' making him worthy of his position as a master of the art of the Arabic short story." - Jennifer Acker & Hisham Bustani About the Author: Zakaria Tamer is a Syrian author who has published eleven short story collections, two collections of satirical articles, and numerous children’s books. His works have been translated into many languages, with three collections in English: Tigers on the Tenth Day, The Hedgehog, and Breaking Knees. He was awarded the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Award in literature, the Cairo Award for the Arabic Short Story, and the Mahmoud Darwish Award for Literature. About the Translator: Maia Tabet is an Arabic-English literary translator whose translation career was launched with Elias Khoury’s Little Mountain. Her book-length translations include Khoury’s White Masks, Throwing Sparks by Abdo Khal (2010 International Prize for Arabic Fiction winner), and Sinan Antoon’s Ya Mariam (forthcoming). She is currently working on a collection of short stories by Hisham Bustani. About The Common: The Common is an award-winning print and digital literary magazine publishing literature and art with a strong sense of place. Based at Amherst College, the magazine launched in 2011. Issues of The Common include short stories, essays, poems, and images that embody a strong sense of place. The Common Online publishes original book reviews, interviews, personal essays, dispatches, poetry, contributor podcasts and recordings, and multimedia features. The Common’s 2016 special issue of Arabic fiction, Tajdeed (Renewal), has been hailed by more than two dozen media outlets across the Middle East. About the Publisher: Electric Literature is an independent publisher amplifying the power of storytelling through digital innovation. Electric Literature’s weekly fiction magazine, Recommended Reading, invites established authors, indie presses, and literary magazines to recommended great fiction. Once a month we feature our own recommendation of original, previously unpublished fiction. Stay connected with us through our eNewsletter, Facebook, and Twitter, and find previous Electric Literature picks in the Recommended Reading archives.