'The coverage of the region is admirable in terms of both geographical spread and literary genre - This collection of articles, carefully grouped around specific themes and the authors who invoke them, is an important contribution to the study of modern Arabic literature.' Roger Allen The breadth of this book is matched by its depth and erudition, and its balance ... Read moreof theory and close-reading of key texts which is thoroughly researched and resonate in detail, is admirable. It is an immensely valuable book, extraordinarily intelligent in its conception and design.' Sabry Hafez 'Providing illuminating scholarly references and critical insights, the essays themselves are at once academic and accessible - especially interesting for their attention to both well-known and less familiar Arab authors.' Summing up: Recommended. B. Harlow, University of Texas at Austin. CHOICE March 2011 'Barbara Winckler's study of The Stone of Laughter makes it clear that the themes chosen by the editors as distinctive of Arab postmodernism - the redefinition of the relationship between memory and identity, the relevance of 'interstices' as privileged spaces of literary production, the new awareness of gender as a cultural construction - often intersect in the writing of contemporary Arab authors. The reader's experience of the usefulness of the perspective suggested by these themes confirms the validity of the editors' choice and the critical relevance of the book as an important tool for understanding the new aesthetics of Arabic literature.' Lorenza Casini, Middle Eastern Literatures Show Less