If you haven’t seen it yet, the literary website The Complete Review just ran this glowing review of our book, Leg Over Leg, Volume One, by Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq, edited and translated by Humphrey Davies. The review, by the site’s editor Michael Orthofer, is a strong endorsement of the author, the book, the series, and the editor-translator, and we’re delighted to have it. I can’t argue with lines like this:

“It is not too early to state that the publication of this work, in this edition, is a game-changer. This is a foundational work of modern Arabic literature and its publication in English is long overdue — but given how it is presented here, it was perhaps worth the wait. This edition, with helpful endnotes, the original Arabic text, and in a translation that both reads well and appears to closely mirror the original, seems, in almost every way, ideal.”

Or this:

“More than anything else, Leg Over Leg feels like an effort at revitalization — of bringing language to life, and through it showing how stories are brought to life, and showing the potential of words — the near-infinite possibilities of expression, and what that brings with it.”

Or this:
“I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that this is the most important literary publication of a translation into English, in terms of literary history and our understanding of it, in years.”

In any case, congratulations to Humphrey Davies on an outstanding review!

Chip Rossetti
Managing Editor, Library of Arabic Literature

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