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3.0 

On the Isle of Antioch

By Amin Maalouf & Natasha Lehrer
On the Isle of Antioch by Amin Maalouf & Natasha Lehrer digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

In this dystopian novel about total collapse by internationally renowned author Amin Maalouf, a complete blackout hits a small island with only two solitary inhabitants, who suddenly have to depend on each other. 

"Lebanese-born French author Maalouf delivers an elegant portrait of a dying world. A beguiling, lyrical work of speculative fiction by a writer of international importance." —Kirkus Reviews, *Starred Review* 

Alec, a press artist with an impressive track record, settles on a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean. He has little contact with his neighbor, a solitary woman who wrote a cult book years ago, before withdrawing from public life. That is, until a gigantic power failure cuts them off from the rest of the world, and all of a sudden they find themselves dependent on each other. The world appears to be on the brink of nuclear war and the collapse of civilization seems imminent. Just who are the mysterious friends of Empedocles, the gang of otherworldly protectors who came swooping in to interfere with the US presidency and cure all illness? Should we trust them? On the Isle of Antioch is a suspenseful novel with mythological roots, written in the dreamy language of the classics, by internationally renowned scholar Amin Maalouf.

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8 Reviews

3.0
Expressionless Face“This book that has intrigued me with its premise did not quiet gave what I was expecting. I love that it is written in first person POV and I took away a lot of wisdom from this book especially about our society. But in general, reading this book was not a satisfying experience for me. The characterization fell of that I just don't see the point of them in the book at all. There could possibly be a lot of elements on this book that got lost in translation,I always take this factor in consideration when reading and reviewing translated works.Thank you to Netgalley and World Editions for the arc.”
“An interesting read with some philosophy concepts as well. A political conflict, historical issues on government ruling, then some touch on dystopian and health crisis all encompassed in this 288 pages of the book. Can also be a good book study. Thank you at Netgalley and World Edition for the ARC. 3.5/5 stars”
“Let’s start this review thanking NetGalley and the publisher for the access to this book. This is a beautiful written dystopia. I sense it will be hard to read to some people and hard to get it but I did enjoy it lots. For start I loved The epistolary narrative. I think we need recognise Maalouf’s as a Great Author. Because in this book he did brilliant, I like the parallel concepts in the book, the whole book is such a creative one and I need this kinda books in the literature now days. The book is easy to read since the mail character is the narrator and that may be something simple but I love it. I like the sense that it tackles colonialism in a peculiarly way and I am one of those ones who always enjoy that kinda of things.”

About Amin Maalouf

AMIN MAALOUF was born in Beirut and lived there until the Lebanese Civil War broke out in 1975. He settled in Paris in 1976 and published his first book, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, in 1983. In 1993, The Rock of Tanios, his fifth novel, won the Goncourt Prize, the most prestigious literary award in France. Maalouf is a member of the Académie Française and in 2010 was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature for his entire oeuvre. In 2021 he was voted one of 12 International Writers by the Royal Society of Literature, an initiative celebrating the power of literature to transcend borders and bring people together. He was awarded both the Terzani Prize and the Malaparte Prize for Adrift, also published in English by World Editions. His work has been translated into 50 languages and his most recent bestselling novel available in English is The Disoriented.


NATASHA LEHRER is a prizewinning writer, translator, and editor. Her long-form journalism and book reviews have appeared in the Guardian, the Observer, the Times Literary Supplement, the Nation, Haaretz, and Fantastic Man, among others, and she is literary editor of the Jewish Quarterly. She has contributed to several books, including a chapter on France in Looking for an Enemy: 8 Essays on Antisemitism, edited by Jo Glanville. The writers she has translated include Nathalie Léger, Chantal Thomas, Vanessa Springora, Victor Segalen, Robert Desnos, and Georges Bataille.

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