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Pillars of Salt
Fadia Faqir
Novel, 1996
Two women's stories in Transjordan under the British mandate, showing Bedouin and village life, patriarchy and the country's early statehood.
Books set in Jordan
Four books that put you in Jordan. Three are by writers from Jordan and set there, starting with Pillars of Salt and The Bride of Amman. The other is a wider pick, by someone who knows the place well.
About the literature of Jordan
One of the best-known novels from Jordan is Fadia Faqir's Pillars of Salt, which tells two women's stories in Transjordan under the British mandate. Most writing in Jordan is in Arabic, though Faqir writes in English. The country took shape as the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921 and became independent in 1946. Alec Kirkbride, a British official, recalled those early years in A Crackle of Thorns, from tribal politics to the rise of Amman.
Fadi Zaghmout's The Bride of Amman, available in translation, weaves together lives in present-day Amman, showing family pressure, marriage expectations and hidden sexuality. Queen Noor's Leap of Faith is a memoir from inside the Hashemite court, covering politics and regional conflict from the 1970s to the 1990s. Recurring subjects include the making of the state, Bedouin and village life, and the growth of Amman.
By writers from Jordan
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The Bride of Amman
Fadi Zaghmout
Novel, 2010. Translated from Arabic by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp
Intertwined lives in contemporary Amman that show family pressure, marriage expectations and hidden sexuality in Jordanian urban society.
Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life
Queen Noor of Jordan
Memoir, 2003
A memoir from inside the Hashemite court, covering Jordanian politics, regional conflict and public life from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Wider picks
By long-time residents and outsiders who know the place well, or folk tales, poetry and history with a strong feel for Jordan.
Married to a Bedouin
Marguerite van Geldermalsen
Memoir, 2006
Wider pick: By a New Zealander who lived in Petra for decades
A memoir of raising a family in the caves of Petra, showing Bedouin daily life around the ancient city from the 1970s.
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