Trials of Arab Modernity: Literary Affects and the New Political (Paperback)

". . . a sharp and witty reading of great warmth and appeal that brings the reader close to its subject without surrendering to hasty generalizations."----Muhsin al-Musawi, Columbia University, author of Islam on the Street and The Postcolonial Arabic Novel

"Trials of Arab Modernity offers a refreshing approach to the field of modern Arabic literature both in the scope of its argument and the richness of its interventions. The book not only
discusses the role of the 'nahda,' but it does so against the backdrop of the Arab Spring, new media, affect theory, and Arabic literary history."

----Michael Allan, University of Oregon
In this invigorating study Tarek El-Ariss challenges prevalent conceptualisations of Arab modernity, both those that treat it as a Western ideological project imposed by colonialism, and others that understand it as a universal narrative of progress and innovation. * -Banipal *
Indeed, this celebration of 'unpredictable directions,'experimentation and further exploration concludes the work, challenging its reader to encounter ephemeral meaning and moments that slip away almost as soon as they appear. Instead of emphasizing new information of definitions, El-Ariss's study offers a glimpse into the experience of reading in-between, across, and alongside.---Katie Logan, -E3W Review of Books
'Trials of Arab Modernity' is a groundbreaking analysis of modern Arabic literature traces from the 19th - century and early- 20th- century 'Nahda' ('the so-called Arab project of Enlightenment, or Renaissance') to contemporary cyber fiction. . .Highly recommended. * -Choice *
In further deftly executed lexical manipulation, El-Ariss discovers for himself-and reveals for his readers-in Shidyaq's kashf nothing short of an expose of "modernity as a disgusting work of art... * -International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies *