As written for The Platform, UK [September 2017] An “autobiographical comedy” is how Trevor Noah’s memoir Born A Crime is often described. But, as everyone’s current favourite satirical funny man, Noah does here too what he does best. Drollery as a façade for dark witticisms. A laugh-out-loud hardcover made up of pages laced with a grim life […]
May 14, 2013
As written for The National, UAE (May 14, 2013) Another fun round-up for the lit lot. At a time when a true appreciation of literature is seemingly on the demise, thanks to the doomsayer-esque allure of technology and its de-romanticisation of the written word, Dubai seems to be witnessing a sudden revivalist surge in the promotion of […]
July 26, 2012
As written for The National, UAE (July 26, 2012) My definition of a glorious (yes, glorious) Saturday morning; 6 hours, 4 stores and a personal acquisition of 6 titles later = a round-up and critique of the top second-hand book stores in Dubai + the most fun I’ve had on a writing assignment in a […]
April 1, 2012
Friends and acquaintances seem to believe that I have in me what it takes to come out with a book. That is, to make my mark as an ink-slinger of the established sort; an author. Ego had me toying about with the idea, but the day dream was dismissed quite quickly, for which I have […]
January 30, 2012
As written for The National, UAE (January 30, 2012) To merely call the Egyptian-Lebanese author Yahia Lababidi a “poet” would be like heinously dedicating a blank notebook to a specific purpose – limiting the many possibilities of potential expression to just one. For Lababidi is not just a rhapsodist, but also an essayist, and even […]
September 6, 2011
I just can’t bring myself to do it. Give myself up to the cult of e-Readers, I mean. The convenience of the gadget, the eco-friendliness of the investment – yes, yes I’ve heard the argument. The same debate I’ve lobbed back and forth enough times to generate enough electricity to power one of those darned […]
November 22, 2017
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