Author: Sumaiyya Naseem

“The Djinn’s Apple” by Djamila Morani takes readers on a captivating journey through the golden age of Baghdad, set a thousand years ago. Winner of the English PEN Translates Award in 2021, this historical crime fiction novel follows the story of Nardeen, a young girl grappling with the horrors of the time, including slavery and family tragedy. Translated from Arabic by Sawad Hussain, the book offers a lyrical and fast-paced narrative that sheds light on the Abbasid period in Islamic history. Through Nardeen’s perspective, readers witness her struggle to navigate a male-dominated society while pursuing her dreams of becoming a…