Qais Layla and the Wolf

Description

“Qais, Layla, and the Wolf” is a collection of short stories, each varying in length. Each title encapsulates the story’s content, enticing the reader to engage with the text in constructing meaning. The author, Al-Issa, seems to draw on traditional folk tales, imbuing them with a distinctive style rooted in ancient Arabic storytelling traditions. This enriches the text with charm and allure, captivating the reader’s imagination and transporting them to lost worlds. The story becomes both the beginning and the end; through its gateway, the possibility of storytelling is realized, and through its exit, the narrative is completed. This allows the stories in the collection to delve deeply into the most delightful, enjoyable, and seductive realms of storytelling. Under the title “…After We Killed the Wolf,” we read:

“What happened next… the grandmother returned to bed, and the hunter left, carrying the wolf’s carcass on his back.”

Layla sat on the edge of the bed, cradling her grandmother’s hands and gazing intently at them.

Layla saw that her grandmother’s eyes were dull and her vision weak, that her body was sweaty and frail, too weak to hold her, that her mouth was empty, wrinkled, and aching.

Layla secretly wished that her grandmother could hear her, see her, hold her, kiss her, and…
Layla secretly wished that her grandmother were a wolf!

The book comprises six collections of short and very short stories under the following main titles: 1. Letters Detached from the Body of the Tale, 2. We Still Beat Proverbs, 3. Internal Bleeding, 4. The Forest Once Again – The Swing of the Sky, 6. The Time of Milk.