New Releases by Rafik Schami

Albert, the only white pig on the farm, and Lila, a chicken too old to lay eggs, suffer the ridicule of their fellow animals until they join forces and defeat a hungry fox who comes to call. Reprint.

Once there was a farm where many pigs and many chickens lived in cordial but distant contentment. They were all very polite to each other, but no pig ever played with a chicken and no chicken ever played with a pig. Not, that is, until Albert meets Lila. Both are outcasts: Albert ridiculed because he is the only white pig on the farm and Lila exiled from the henhouse because she is too old to lay eggs. Naturally, the other animals shake their heads over this odd couple. But Albert and Lila don''t care. They''re having too much fun together. And when they come up with a cunning plan to outwit the fox, they transform the farm into a safe and happy haven filled with friendship and fun for all.

Die Aufträge häufen sich. Von Buchhandlungen und Kulturinstituten verfolgt, kommt der begabte Märchenerzähler den Nachfragen kaum noch nach. Weil er niemanden enttäuschen will, greift er die Idee eines Freundes auf, Doppelgänger einzustellen. Geschult von ihm arbeiten sie zunächst in seinem Sinne. Der Autor lacht sich ins Fäustchen, hat er doch auf diese Weise Musse zum Schreiben gewonnen. Aber das kühne Projekt gerät aus der Balance, als die Doppelgänger beginnen sich zu verselbständigen.

Fatima accepts the challenge to work for the mean-tempered lord of the castle who steals the dreams of anyone who becomes angry with him.

Belletristik : Syrien/Deutschland ; Reden.

Geschichten mit dem Zauber des Orients, voller Witz und Weisheit. Aus Malula, dem Heimatort von Rafik Schamis Familie, stammt diese Sammlung von Geschichten, die durch Zufall wiederentdeckt wurde.

Diary entries set against the background of political unrest in the Middle east, in which a fourteen year old describes three years of his life in Damascus where work, school, romance and friendship mingle together with threats of war and constant coups.; Translated from the German by Rika Lesser.