Reception

The novels S and Laila, the Snow and Ludmilla were the subject of a symposium debate between translator Alexander Habash and the novelist Faten Al-Murr at the 2015 Beirut International Book Fair.^[6] The discussion focused on interpreting the two novels as potentially feminist texts.^[6] The literary critic Ali Hassan Al-Fawaz responded with an article rejecting the premise, describing Al-Zou'bi's writing as transcending simple political interpretations; Al-Zou'bi's novels, he argues, require a reader who will rise to the semiotic challenges of her symbolic writing.^[6]

Cold White Sun was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2019.^[1][2] As a shortlisted book, it was one of 6 titles selected from 134 candidates.^[2] Being shortlisted comes with a prize of $10,000.^[2] Despite this international success, the novel faced censorship in Jordan.^[7] In February 2018, the Media Commission forbade circulation of the novel within Jordan and asked distributors to re-export any copies they had in their possession.^[7] The Commission declined to give a specific reason for the ban.^[7] The novel is about a young intellectual who feels alienated from the conservative society of Amman.^[8] Much of the book takes the form of the diary of an old man who was the prior occupant of his windowless room.^[4] This narrative raises existential questions about eternity and futility, and the suppression of Arab intellectual culture.^[4] The literary critic Walid Abu Bakr described the novel as a combination of the myth of Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the myth Sisyphus, contrasting heroic and absurd models of eternity.^[7]

Issue 66 of Banipal, the Magazine of Modern Arab Literature takes Al-Zou'bi as its featured author, with an essay on her literary influences, an excerpt of Cold White Sun translated into English, and a review of the novel.^[9] This excerpt is the only writing by Al-Zou'bi available in English, as of 2019.^[5]