Impostures
Impostures by al-Ḥarīrī is a groundbreaking translation published by NYU Press on May 5, 2020. This edition, comprising 542 pages, presents a celebrated work of Arabic literature that follows the roguish character Abū Zayd al-Sarūjī as he navigates the medieval Middle East. Through a series of clever impersonations and adventures, the narrative showcases his talent for wordplay, poetry, and riddles, all while engaging with a diverse array of voices and perspectives.
Readers will find a rich tapestry of linguistic creativity as award-winning translator Michael Cooperson employs fifty different registers of English, drawing inspiration from various literary styles and global dialects. Impostures features picaresque tales that highlight the art of storytelling and the intricacies of language, making it a unique exploration of literary collections from the Middle Eastern tradition. This English-only edition captures the essence of the original work, offering a dazzling display of translation that brings the spirit of al-Ḥarīrī’s masterpiece to a new audience.
Official synopsis Publisher
One of the Wall Street Journal’s Top 10 Books of the Year
Winner, 2020 Sheikh Zayed Book Award, Translation Category
Shortlist, 2021 National Translation Award
Finalist, 2021 PROSE Award, Literature Category
Fifty rogue’s tales translated fifty ways
An itinerant con man. A gullible eyewitness narrator. Voices spanning continents and centuries. These elements come together in Impostures, a groundbreaking new translation of a celebrated work of Arabic literature.
Impostures follows the roguish Abū Zayd al-Sarūjī in his adventures around the medieval Middle East—we encounter him impersonating a preacher, pretending to be blind, and lying to a judge. In every escapade he shows himself to be a brilliant and persuasive wordsmith, composing poetry, palindromes, and riddles on the spot. Award-winning translator Michael Cooperson transforms Arabic wordplay into English wordplay of his own, using fifty different registers of English, from the distinctive literary styles of authors such as Geoffrey Chaucer, Mark Twain, and Virginia Woolf, to global varieties of English including Cockney rhyming slang, Nigerian English, and Singaporean English.
Featuring picaresque adventures and linguistic acrobatics, Impostures brings the spirit of this masterpiece of Arabic literature into English in a dazzling display of translation.
An English-only edition.
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