Syrian Novel among Top 100 Novels of All Time

 Syrian writer Khaled Khalifa's novel "In Praise of Hatred" is in the list of "Top 100 Novels of All Time" with George Orwell, Leo Tolstoy, Albert Camus, William Faulkner, Franz Kafka, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, John Steinbeck, Emily Bronte, E. M. Forster, D. H. Lawrence and others, according to List Muse, dedicated website to publishing stimulating book, film and music lists.

''The stirring and sensual story'' by Khalifa, is an elegant use of traditional, critics say, ''it's  a powerful echo of the modern-day tragedy that is now taking place in the Middle East.''

The Syrian novelist and the screenwriter was born in Aleppo 1964. His 2006 novel (Madih al-Karahiya) which ranked 95 in the top 100 novels list has attracted worldwide media attention. It was a finalist for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, and has been banned in Syria.

The Top 100 Fiction list contains many of the great novels you'd expect, but with a few surprises to add a little spice to the collection.

 Novel review: '' 1980s Syria, our young narrator is living a secluded life behind the veil in the vast and perfumed house of her grandparents in Aleppo. Her three aunts, Maryam the pious one; Safaa, the liberal; and the free-spirited Marwa, bring her up with the aid of their ever-devoted blind servant. Soon the high walls of the family home are unable to protect her from the social and political changes outside. Witnessing the crackdowns of the ruling dictatorship against Muslims, she is filled with hatred for her oppressors, and becomes increasingly fundamentalist. In the footsteps of her beloved uncle Bakr, she takes on the party, launching herself into a fight for her religion, her country, and ultimately, her own future. On a backdrop of real-life events that occurred during the Syrian regime's ruthless suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980s, "In Praise Of Hatred" is a stirring, sensual story. Its elegant use of traditional, layered storytelling is a powerful echo of the modern-day tragedy that is now taking place in the Middle East.''

By Mohamed Hamdan