“Books are responsible for my over indulgence!”
What book(s) are you currently reading?
The Holy Sail by Qatari author Abdulaziz Al-Mahmoud, translated by Karim Traboulsi, which is an extraordinary tale that beautifully weaves the human condition within historical and political occurrences that have shaped the region and arguably the world as we know it.
My only regret is that I am reading the translated version! Also, I am reading Sea Djinn by Linda Davies to my children right now, which we are all loving not just because it is has us all mesmer-ised, but also because the story is set down the road from us at Fisherman’s Village on Beach Road!
What are the books that changed your life and shaped your outlook in general?
1984 by George Orwell that terrified me when I was 12 years old, Macbeth by ‘ we all know who’ that gave me my first and forever favourite female villain; Emma by Jane Austen because I was so impressed with myself when I finished it; The Book of Questions by Pablo Neruda be- cause really “In what language does rain fall over tormented cities?”, and so many more that time, space and the Khaleej
Times editor would not permit to print.
What books would you pass onto your kids to read and treasure?
Roald Dahl’s James And The Giant Peach and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, both of which are entirely responsible for my life-long over indulgence in all things fruity or chocolatey! Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
and Lord Of The Flies by William Golding.
Books that you never tire of reading and re-reading?
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje; Morning In The Burned House, a collection of poems by Margaret Atwood; The Lover by Marguerite Duras; and absolutely anything that Oscar Wilde even whispered.
A book you believe every person must pick up at least once?
Henry IV, the play by William Shakespeare — Need I go on?