Mohamed Alyahyai, "The War" (Dararab for Publishing and Translation, 2026)

Summary

Podcast Summary
Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Turo Mende
Guest: Christian James (translator and diplomat)
Episode: Mohamed Alyahyai, "The War" (Dararab for Publishing and Translation, 2026)
Date: July 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on Christian James’ translation of Mohamed Alyahyai’s novel "The War," recently published in English. The conversation delves into the themes of the novel, the background of the Dhofar Revolution, the unique process and challenges of literary translation, and the importance of bringing lesser-known Arabic literature to a wider audience. James, a diplomat and translator, shares his insights about the novel’s universal relevance and the personal journey both in the narrative and in its translation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Opening Reading: The Crux of the Novel

• [00:53–09:18]
  Christian James opens the episode by reading a powerful letter from the novel, where the character Saeed Ali writes to his daughter, reflecting on his life choices, the burdens of revolution, and personal transformation.
  • This passage embodies the novel’s major themes: memory, reckoning, idealism vs. pragmatism, generational trauma, and the costs of both revolution and peace.
  • Notable excerpt:

    "You can consider this the unfinished account of a fighter still dreaming of victory. My mind is at peace because the journey has ended the way it has... as a fighter who bore arms and dreamed of change. And even as he nears old age, still dreams that timeless dream for a homeland where all people are equal beneath its skies."
    —Saeed Ali, as read by Christian James [03:08]

The Intersection of Diplomacy and Translation

• [09:18–11:04]
  • James discusses balancing his work as a diplomat and a literary translator.
  • Translation began as a creative outlet, offering escape from the bureaucracy of policy work while deepening his engagement with the Middle East.
  • The vibrancy of London’s literary culture and the pandemic gave him space to pursue translation.

Choosing to Translate Omani Literature

• [12:00–14:26]
  • Omani literature is underrepresented in translation, which drew James to Alyahyai’s work.
  • Connection with Dar Arab Publishing and its Omani founder facilitated the project.
  • Prior interest in regions outside the literary spotlight (e.g., Yemen) influenced his choice.
  • Alyahyai’s background as an intellectual, journalist, and his program "Ayn al-Dimuqratiya" (Eye on Democracy) were also factors.

Thematic Depth: War as Context, Not Just Event

• [14:59–16:19]

  • "The War" uses the Dhofar Revolution as a backdrop but is more about psychological aftermath, intergenerational trauma, and character introspection.
  • It’s accessible to readers unfamiliar with Omani history, given its universal themes of reckoning, memory, and choice.
  • Alyahyai’s writing style is cinematic and evocative, making the context approachable.

• Quote:

  "It's more focused on the mindset of the characters... how they're reckoning with the war, the aftermath, the afterlife of the war itself."
  —Christian James [15:10]

Universal Storytelling

• [16:19–18:31]

  • The novel’s questions about compromise, selling out, and pragmatism resonate globally, not only in Omani, Arab, or revolutionary contexts.
  • James asserts the novel’s broad appeal: its quality writing, fleshed-out characters, and universal existential questions.

• Quote:

  "It's questioning one's life and the choices one's made... Did I sell out? Did I make a compromise? Was I being pragmatic?..."
  —Christian James [17:23]

The Translator’s Craft

• [19:13–22:53]

  • For this 380-page novel, James first read the book entirely to understand its arc before translating in daily increments.
  • The text's initial fragmented, dreamlike quality was challenging; setting daily goals helped overcome the “gigantic elephant of a text.”

• Quote:

  "I read through it completely through in Arabic first... then it really comes down to setting daily goals... and just eating it one bite at a time."
  —Christian James [20:17]

Language, Dialect, and Style

• [22:04–22:53]
  • The novel uses elevated, modern standard Arabic—no heavy dialect—which made it more accessible linguistically, though not thematically.
  • Nonlinear, complex ideas posed more difficulty than the language itself.

Collaboration with the Author

• [23:14–25:09]

  • James met Alyahyai during the translation process, building rapport and understanding of the author’s worldview.
  • Alyahyai reviewed the entire English manuscript and provided feedback to ensure fidelity to the source.

• Quote:

  "There's a certain amount of both humility and hubris... But he, along the way, was very helpful... I wanted to do right by him for such a great novel as The War."
  —Christian James [24:05]

Expanding Understanding of the Region

• [25:09–26:17]

  • The Dhofar Revolution—a Marxist, communist-led uprising in Oman—is little-known in the West, making the novel eye-opening.
  • Such stories challenge stereotypes about the Arabian Peninsula.

• Quote:

  "I think... it will surprise just a general Western reader that there was this 10 year long communist-led... revolution on the Arabian Peninsula."
  —Christian James [25:45]

Most Compelling Characters

• [27:01–28:57]

  • Saeed Ali, father of Christina, stands out for his transformation from idealistic revolutionary to pragmatic government official wrestling with compromise.
  • The contrast with unwavering comrades highlights the novel’s nuanced perspective on change and ideals.

• Quote:

  "He was a complicated character. He had depth, he had layers... And even the passage I read, this is 30 plus years after the war... he's starting to reflect on his life and trying to make sense of the decisions he made."
  —Christian James [27:52]

Upcoming Translation Projects

• [29:21–30:16]
  • James is working on a translation sample from Libyan author Aisha Ibrahim ("The Sandbox"), about Libya’s Italian occupation, seeking new audiences and publishers for such works.

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Memorable Quotes

• On Reconciling with the Past:

  "Did I sell out? Did I make a compromise? Was I being pragmatic? These are things that anyone in their own life faces at some point."
  —Christian James [17:23]

• On Literary Translation:

  "Any translator, when they come to a text, there’s a certain amount of both humility and hubris... I wanted to do right by him for such a great novel as The War."
  —Christian James [24:05]

• On the Revolutionary Experience:

  "We suffer from the metastasization of a Janus faced cancer, corruption and favoritism on the one hand and on the other a wave of isolationism..."
  —Passage from “The War,” read by Christian James [08:09]

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Noteworthy Timestamps

• Opening & Book Excerpt: [00:53–09:18]
• Diplomacy & Translation: [09:18–11:04]
• Why Translate Omani Literature: [12:00–14:26]
• Novel’s Context & Universal Themes: [14:59–18:31]
• Translation Process & Approach: [19:37–22:53]
• On Language & Style: [22:04–22:53]
• Author-Translator Collaboration: [23:14–25:09]
• Expanding the Reader’s View: [25:31–26:17]
• Character Discussion: [27:01–28:57]
• Current/Future Projects: [29:21–30:16]

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Conclusion

The interview provides a rich exploration of "The War" and its translation, revealing complexities of personal and national history, the craft of literary translation, and the significance of making underrepresented narratives accessible. The dialogue is reflective, insightful, and passionate, giving listeners an entry point to Omani literature and broader questions about memory, history, and moral reckoning. Whether one is interested in Middle Eastern history, translation, or stories of human transformation, this episode offers a compelling primer.

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Transcript

[Christian James]

Welcome to the New Books Network.

[Turo Mende]

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to New Books Network. I'm Turo Mende, the host of the channel. Today we'll be talking to translator and diplomat Christian James about his translation of Muhammad Aliyah, the War, which was published last month by Dar Arab Publishing. Thank you so much for joining us on this podcast, Christian.

[Christian James]

Thank you for having me.

[Turo Mende]

Christian, you are currently based in Washington, D.C. and you work as a literary translator and as a diplomat in the daily life. And before we start delving more into this discussion, we thought that you could read a bit from the book. So maybe you can go ahead with the passage. Thank you so much.

[Christian James]

Sure. So this passage, it comes from a long letter that the father of one of the main protagonists is writing to. He's writing to his daughter, kind of reviewing his life and explaining why he's made certain decisions. I think it recaptures the crux of the novel. So I thought I would start with that. My daughter, Christina. Without overthinking things or imposing any set agenda, I am putting my memories into words. For the sole person about whom I care so deeply. As long as I remain on this earth, I ask that these papers stay with you alone, far from the eyes of others, when I am below ground and my spirit has been liberated from the material weight of this thing we call the body. And I am no longer concerned how these words will be interpreted or what might be said about me and my ephemeral sojourn here on earth, then and then alone, you can decide the fate of these documents, whether to set them to flame, tear them apart, stash them among your books and files, or place them in the safekeeping of some archives. What I narrate here are the personal musings of a life that passed both bitterly and sweetly, filled with dreams and disappointments. There are phases that I chose of my own free will and others that befell me, or into which I fell through no fault of my own. Yet all of them have formed what constitutes who I am and have tinged my life with their hues. You can consider this the unfinished account of a fighter still dreaming of victory. My mind is at peace because the journey has ended the way it has. As a loving and doting father to his daughter and a husband to his wife, a former official who not once betrayed his position as so many did, as a fighter who bore arms and dreamed of change. And even as he nears old age, still dreams that timeless dream for a homeland where all people are equal beneath its skies. No one is born without a fate. Inscribed on his forehead. This one will become a hero and that one will become a wretched coward, one becoming an inspirational leader, while the other will remain a slave. We do not always choose our path. Sometimes the path chooses us. Many of us are unable to decide when to stop our journey. And those who do not choose when or how to begin also do not choose when or how it ends. At least, that is what happened to our generation. Like many of my generation, I made many mistakes and fell into pitfalls. But I learned. I always got back up stronger and kept going, never hesitating to put behind me what had happened and begin anew. Careful to ensure that the road was not the same, to avoid walking in circles, just to fall into the same trap again. I boarded the revolutionary train nearly from the start. Not the very beginning, mind you, since I wasn't one of the founders. And I found myself deeply immersed in the activities surrounding the establishment of the Popular Front and its call for armed struggle. On June 9, 1965, Kuwait was our home and our dreams for change and revolution were born in its warm embrace. Two years after the start of fighting in Zofar, I took up arms at one point along the way, a phase which we termed the struggle for change. I got off the combat and political activist train and rode the education train. I decided to go to university to study agriculture, because what the revolution lacked was neither fighters nor political guides, nor silver tongued orators, but rather engineers and agricultural instructors, doctors and teachers. Simply put, those who would put food, medicine and knowledge into the mouths and minds of the famished, sick and blind of our people here. I must give credit to the one who provoked this change in me, Comrade Musa Hassan. He asked me to set down my rifle and pick up the sickle. Because the history of humanity is the search for food, as Marx used to say, and because our revolution was in need of someone to prepare the ground for it, to till the soil and to make it ripe for agriculture, to produce the food our people in the mountains of Zofar needed. Comrade Musa recommended to the leadership that if they wanted to be prepared for the day after victory, then they should send me, Saeed Ali, to study agriculture abroad. Something I fell deeply in love with as I began this new period of my life. Yes, I began a new life with all my gratitude. I can never forget that noble man. My transformation from fighter to agricultural innovator was set in motion about two years after the hummering conference where organizers had agreed to establish farming councils. However, two years before completing my studies, I found it was the right time to get off the revolutionary train and to board, to get on board with the government, the very governing power I had fought to topple. You know nothing about the transition I underwent, and I am unsure what you'll think or how you might view it. As you grew up and became aware of life, Baba became an official in the government and you found yourself among those in Muscat who are called the Velvet Class. Do I now feel guilt and remorse? I don't know. Perhaps I feel I betrayed the past somewhat. But I believe I did what I had to do. And in any case, history will make the reckoning. How did this all transpire? The answer lies in the fact that the time for peace had come. Not war. The moment for the state, not revolution. The state had brought down the revolution. Revolution had not brought about the state. Isn't there a time for revolution? Didn't Leon Trotsky believe in a permanent revolution? That's what Comrade Sol Najim said all the time. Should my getting off the revolutionary bandwagon and stepping into government mean that at one time I didn't truly believe, or that I had borne arms and fought without grasping the justice of the cause or the right of the people to live with dignity and freedom? Did it mean that I wasn't a dedicated revolutionary? Did I choose the path of revolution because of the burden of my father's image, pressured by the injustice, misery and suffering I had experienced in my childhood, in which I saw in the eyes of the men, women and the nearly naked children of Mirabat because of the Governor's oppression? Or was it because, like other youth of my time, I had been influenced by the leftist slogans of the communists and nationalists that asserted there was no other option than burning it all down and that violence alone was the way to fell the tyrants? And so I decided to pick up a rifle and hopped on the revolution train. These questions, like so many others in life, have no answer. I cling to the hope that your generation, my little girl, will be the one to answer these questions still hanging over this country unanswered. Now that I have jumped off the governing train after riding in first class for so long, you'll ask why? And why now? I see this question in your eyes ever since you were born. When I saw those eyes of yours that looked just like Sarah's, your mother, I decided that my new war would be for your happiness. That you might never know the least sadness, misery or want that I had experienced as a child. Yet it wasn't this alone. That prompted me to get off the government train at that exact moment. There were other reasons. True, they might seem ancillary. I could have ignored them and continued going for another five or even 10 years, or perhaps until the end of my life. But those reasons helped me make the decision. Chaos was beginning to churn in the front cars of the train and we no longer knew who made decisions or who was responsible for what. The government train was reeling on its tracks and its wheels drowning in the sands of crises and ever growing problems, and nobody could do a damn thing. We saw the storm brewing. All of us saw it. But there was nobody, and there still is nobody, capable of stopping it or sounding a loud enough warning. My girl. We suffer from the metastasization of a Janus faced cancer, corruption and favoritism on the one hand and on the other a wave of isolationism such that we are falling further and further behind, two sides each preparing the ground for the other. We don't know who to blame or for what. And when there is no one to point the finger at, the no one to point the finger at, the spiral into chaos isn't that far off. In any case, here on the sunny winter's morning, I'm sitting in my office. The one you know so well was its leather sofa that you would spend hours on before giving me my nightly kiss and heading off to bed. I'm finishing my cup of coffee and Sarah is finishing her breakfast. I won't leave here till I've told you everything I could possibly tell from my window. The sea of one long is placid and smooth like a shimmering silk carpet. Just beneath the window there's the date tree you used to climb. And so I sit here and begin to write after much hesitation.

[Turo Mende]

Thank you so much, Christian. And before coming to the novel itself, what's interest me as well as your person, like as a diplomat and being a literary translator. How do you juggle these two roles? Or do they connect with each other? Or how do you see these different type of works that you do for a living or for the love of it?

[Christian James]

Yes, yeah, definitely. I think they definitely complement one another. Actually. I began to be interested in literary translation because I was searching for a creative outlet. I. I work in policy, I work in foreign policy focused on international affairs and relations, which is exciting, but in some ways it's bureaucratic work, it's. It's administrative work, it's political work. And I wanted an outlet that would let me do something creative, but still was focused on the the region of the world that I'm very fascinated in, obviously the Middle east, the Arab world. And so I came to literary translation that way. I was actually living in London at the time and London is just such an amazing city. It has such a vibrant literary culture. Everyone's reading and it was during COVID and so the world kind of shut down. I had a little more time on my hands and and so I think being in London, having that moment to dedicate myself to a side pursuit like this led me to start. And that was back in 2020, and it's been just a wonderful journey ever since then.

[Turo Mende]

Thank you so much. And coming to the author of the novel Muhammad Aliyah, he is an Omani author and he, I think has published so far three novels as far as I'm aware, and a couple of short stories collection too, and studies. And why you worked with Dara as well in the past, of course, with your translations of various novels from Yemen for example, too. And what sparked you to translate a novel from a man? I mean, because I think it's not that maybe concentrated, like novels from Egypt or Lebanon, of course, so there's not many English translations out there, or it's slowly starting to appear. So why did you decide to translate this exact novel?

[Christian James]

You're right, though I do think nowadays Omani literature is getting much more prevalent, at least because of the awards it's won and whatnot. But at the time, I think I've always been interested in the places that get less attention. The very first novel I translated was by a Yemeni author and I also did another Yemeni novel as well. And I just always am, I think, more interested in the places where the spotlight isn't usually shining. And that's what pulled me to those originally Oman. It is lesser known. Hopefully over time it will become more and more because it has such a great literary tradition itself that is worthy of a global attention. But also I think it was, it came down to I established this really nice relationship with Dar Arab. They're based in the uk and so when I was living there, I was able to get to know the friend Nassir Al Badri. He's the publisher of Dar Arb. He was living in the UK at the time. So we were able to meet up and I was able to establish this really nice rapport with him. And obviously he's Omani. Dar Arab is based in Oman. So one day he pitched this novel to me. He said, this is definitely up your alley. It deals with politics, it deals with history, deals with war. Those are obviously things that generally interested in, given my profession. And so that's how I came about this book. Interestingly, Muhammad Ali, I had actually heard of him before this novel, but in a very different context. He's worked as a journalist, he's done tv. And years and years ago, I actually had, when I'm studying Arabic, learning Arabic, he had this one program, I believe it's called Ion Democracy. And I remember watching it to work on my Arabic. So I had known the name. And so it was really interesting to then be able to translate this novel, to get to know him more, because he is a true intellect. He's a very intellectual person with deep knowledge about his country and a beautiful writing style. And so for me, it was an honor to be able to do that.

[Turo Mende]

And maybe before giving up too much spoilers or. I mean, the context of the novel is obviously the Dafar Revolution as a background anyway. And can you maybe summarize a bit in your own words what you think the novel would be about? Would it be more like about the characters inhabiting the novel, or what would you choose as a main narrative point for this novel?

[Christian James]

Yeah, so, I mean, it's obviously called the war. And so when you come to it, you're expecting that it's about some war, but it's more. I would say it's a psychological novel. It's more focused on the mindset of the characters. It's about how they're reckoning with the war, the aftermath of the war, the afterlife of the war itself. It deals with big issues such as the inheritance of trauma across generations. And you do find out a bit about this rebellion, the Zofar Revolution, throughout the novel. But I would say that's more in the background and that here these are character studies. It's studies of their minds, their ways of reviewing their lives, their choices, and how this seminal event, the war, has impacted them.

[Turo Mende]

So you would say a general reader who is interested in this novel and doesn't have such background in the history of the revolution or of Oman in general, would still understand the motives and the character developments that are happening in the novel?

[Christian James]

Very much so. I mean, myself, I was generally aware of the Dhofar Rebellion or revolution before I started translating this, but I had no deep insight into it. I just knew it was a historical fact that was of some note. Obviously, as I translated, I learned more and more. But, yeah. So on the one hand, this book, it you will come to an understanding of the historical events, the intellectual fervor that was going on the Debates that people were having about the revolution, its aims, its objectives. And that's very interesting. And it's laid out in a way that I think even a general reader, one who might just be tangentially interested in the topic, would find interesting. But then also what I like about it is it does deal with much larger universal themes. It's questioning one's life and the choices one's made throughout their lives. It's dealing with wondering if those choices were the right ones. Did I sell out? Did I make a compromise? Was I being pragmatic? I mean, these are things that anyone in their own life faces at some point. And so I think you can connect with it on that level. Myself, when I started reading it, and when Nasser El Badri, the publisher at Dar Art, pitched it to me, I too wondered, is there a readership in the English speaking world? Is this something that would spark their attention? And the more I got into it, and even now I just reread the book before this podcast. I definitely think there is. I mean, on one level, it's just beautiful writing by the author. He creates these rich, detailed worlds. He gives information in a way that is accessible and digestible. He fleshes out his characters, he fleshes out scenes. He writes almost in a cinematic way that I think would allow anyone to approach this novel and get something out of it.

[Turo Mende]

Thank you so much. And I think the passage that you read at the beginning of the podcast, the letter that he wrote to his daughter, I think reflects very well what you just said about, like, the characters, about questioning themselves in their role and everything, what you just described about the novel. So I think maybe even though the Door for Revolution or Oman is like the context, but readers could still kind of maybe compare them with the characters in some ways, at least on a deeper level, maybe so.

[Christian James]

Yeah, definitely. Definitely.

[Turo Mende]

And when you start working on a new translation of a novel, how do you usually proceed? Are you working like chapter to chapter or these are, like, divided in parts, this novel? Or do you use small chunks and then do more later on? Or how do you usually go on with such a long text?

[Christian James]

Yeah, I think I've taken a different approach with each translation I've done. I'm still learning how to do this. It's still a new craft. So I'm just trying to see what works best. And yeah, this was a long text. I think in Arabic, it was 380 words, 380 pages. And to date, it was the longest thing I've translated. And in the beginning, that was quite daunting. Especially the first part of it. It's very hallucinatory, it's very fluid, it's very fractured and filled with fractured memories. So that was quite difficult to deal with. But with this one, I wanted to make sure that I fully understood, or as much as one can, the novel. So I read through it completely through in Arabic first just to understand where it's going, what, what it's trying to do. And then it really comes down to setting daily goals of today. I'm going to translate five pages, six pages, whatever it might be, and just taking this gigantic elephant of a text and just eating it one bite at a time. I think in total, I think it was a year and a half it took from beginning to end. So it was a long term project, it was a big novel. Obviously I have other things going on with my life, but every day I did try to make some progress on it. I know some translators, they don't read the novel in its entirety before and they just like to just face the text as it comes and as they translating it. For me, though, I wanted just to make sure that I grasped it beginning to end, to help orient me as I worked through some of those more difficult places.

[Turo Mende]

I think it just makes sense too because you get like a sense of the language and the style of the text as well and how you want to transport it into English, maybe. So I think I would read the whole novel to probably. And can you describe maybe the language in Arabic that he. How he wrote like probably. I didn't read it in the original, but did he use like Modern Standard Arabic or did he use like Omani dialect for some parts or. Yes. How would you describe his style and language?

[Christian James]

So he writes in a beautiful style. It's an elevated style. It's. I believe the entire text is in Modern Standard Arabic. I thought there would be zofari words or a dialect in it or whatnot, but there wasn't. So on that hand it was quite approachable because it was in a standardized language. Though grappling with his ideas and just the kind of the nonlinear aspect of his language is what made it quite difficult. But from just a purely linguistic standpoint, it was just in modern standard, as so many novels are in Arabic.

[Turo Mende]

Did you have a chance to talk with the author about the translation process or was it mostly a solitary process of translating it on your own and then sending a draft to the editors at the press and then sending them for them back? Or did you have a chance to talk it or maybe or discuss some parts with the author about this.

[Christian James]

So I was lucky. So Muhammad Alihiya had spent I think maybe 10 years living here in Washington. So he comes to Washington from time to time. And when I was translating the book, he just happened to be in the city and so we were able to meet up and I had just barely begun translating it. But it's always nice to be able to meet the author, to talk with the mind behind this book that you're working on, to get to know kind of their worldview, how they see things and just build that rapport. It's something I've not been able to really do with the other authors just because of distance or whatever it might be. But it was really nice with him. And I think any translator, when they come to a text, there's a certain amount of, amount of both humility and hubris. It's the humility of like, oh my gosh, this is, you know, how am I going to do this? This is a beautifully written text by a really capable author as well as hubris of oh yeah, I think I can do this. But he, along the way was very helpful. If I had questions or whatnot, I was able to shoot him an email or a text and he was always more than happy to respond. I finished my final draft, I didn't immediately send it to the publisher because I was so worried that I didn't capture Muhammad's book in the way that he would understand it or see it. And I wanted to make sure that he would be happy with it. And so I sent the whole text to him and he very graciously and generously read through the manuscript and was able to offer a few points here and there. And so I was very grateful to him that he would take the time to do that because I wanted to do right by him for such a great novel as the War.

[Turo Mende]

And do you think such novels like the War helps maybe the general reader to understand region from a different angle? That that is like different from the typical media related stuff that we always see on social media or in the news or whatnot.

[Christian James]

So yeah, yeah. Specifically the Dhofar Rebellion I think will surprise just a general Western reader that there was this 10 year long communist led Marxist inspired revolution that was taking place on the Arabian Peninsula. I think nowadays communism and Marxism and Leninist thought aren't the first things that jump to someone's mind when they think of the Arabian Peninsula. And yet for 10 years there was this revolt or revolution. So I think at least from that perspective it will be eye opening and interesting and catching someone's attention in that way.

[Turo Mende]

And I think at least in recent years there were some new publications about the Darfur revolution that had researchers interested in looking at it in some ways. And maybe novels like this translated into English will give at least such who are interested in this context a different perspective to as well. So do you have any characters from the novel that you thought that would stand out or that you would say that would have like a special impact to you after reading it, especially in the original Arabic?

[Christian James]

I think the character in that really resonated and I think speaker was universal, or I assume it's universal, is the father of Christina Said. He was the one writing the passage that I, I read his name was Saeed Ali. He has this fervent belief in revolution and this idealism as a youth, this 18 year old kid. And he rides that wave for years and years. But then over time he becomes pragmatic. He sees that the new government in Moscow is trying to achieve some of the things that the revolution itself was trying to achieve. And he thinks, he weighs is it better to continue trying to make the revolution completely victorious and reach all its aims, or is it better to adapt to this new reality, accept the government because it is trying to do something at least. And that's the choice he made in his life. And so I think it's just he was a complicated character. He had depth, he had layers. One of the other characters, Sal, who was a comrade of Saeed Ali during the revolution, he, his story has depth definitely. But he is a revolutionary from start to finish. He never wavered. And of course there are people like that. But I just thought it was a little more interesting, Saeed Ali's character, because you see how he's grappling with it. And even the passage I read this is 30 plus years after the war, he's retired from his very cushy job in the government and he's starting to reflect on his life and trying to make sense of the decisions he made. And so I thought that was just a very humanizing aspect. And that character I really enjoyed reading.

[Turo Mende]

Thank you so much, Christian. And coming to the last question of the podcast, maybe do you have any else translation that you would look forward to working on in the near future or do you have anything already planned, maybe that you would like to translate since this came out like last month?

[Christian James]

Yeah, so I'm always looking for a new project. I'm working on some excerpts, some samples of a Libyan author named Aisha Ibrahim she wrote a book called Sunduk Raml, or the Sandbox, and it deals with the Italian occupation of Libya in the early, early 1900s and just the contorted relations between the occupying soldiers from Italy and the Libyans themselves. And so it's something I hope we'll see light of day at some point. The thing with translation is you're always doing samples, you're always doing pitches, trying to find someone to see the beauty in this text that you're trying to get out of the world and to fall in love with it in the same way that you do.

[Turo Mende]

So yeah, thank you so much, Christian, for giving us today more insight about your work on this novel and joining us on the podcast today. Thank you so much, Christian.

[Christian James]

Thank you.

[New Books Network Host]

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