Synopsis:
Although the Arabic world is as diverse as any other region, customs and traditions endure. Injustices continue. And then there is Laila. Trapped in a marriage to a man she finds physically revolting, Laila begins to realize secret truths about her sexuality, about her very identity as a modern Jordanian woman. “Good” Arab women may have occasional lurid fantasies about dominating men in bed… but Laila actually finds the strength to do it. And when she dies suddenly in an encounter with a lover, the stakes for the survivors become a matter of life and death. In Laila, Fadi Zaghmout gives voice to the Arab woman to put men in her society on trial.

Metadata:
Publication date: October 20, 2020
Print edition: 5″ x 8″ perfect bound trade paperback
Page count: 142
ISBN: 978-988-77949-6-7
Price (paper): US$18.95
E-book formats: ePub, Kindle, PDF
Word count: 39,000
eISBN: 978-988-77949-3-6
Price (e-book): US$8.99

Buy a copy:
E-book: Amazon, Smashwords
Paperback: Amazon
Audio book: Audible (Narrated by: Julia Farhat; Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins)

Blurbage:

• “When a woman takes the proverbial reins. She dies doing what she loves but that is only part of the story.” — Andrea Smith on Reedsy
• “… makes me wonder how much more of an uproar and author pitchforking it would have caused had it instead been written by a Jordanian woman.” — Rana Asfour in The Markaz Review

Author Bio:
Fadi Zaghmout is a gender activist, blogger, and author. His first two novels were best-sellers in the Middle East, and his third novel Laila wal Hamal was released by Egyptian publisher Kotob Khan. Fadi holds an MA in Creative Writing and Critical Thinking from Sussex University in the UK. He blogs at thearabobserver.wordpress.com and tweets as @fadizaghmout. thearabobserver.wordpress.com | twitter.com/fadizaghmout

Translator Bio:
Hajer Almosleh is a writer, poet, editor, and translator with over two decades of experience. Her recent translations include: A. E. Hotchner’s Hemingway in Love; John Green’s Paper Towns AND Turtles All the Way Down; Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why; Jean Sasson’s For the Love of a Son.