Description

Named one of NPR’s Books We Love, Every Rising Sun by Jamila Ahmed is the captivating retelling of One Thousand and One Nights.

In Ahmed’s rendition Shaherazade uses her wit and storytelling to navigate palace intrigue, betrayal, and the perils of the Third Crusade. After witnessing the Malik’s wife’s infidelity, Shaherazade sparks a brutal cycle of nightly marriages and executions. To save herself and her people, she marries the Malik and tells him a new story each night, stopping just short of the end to prolong her life.

As rebellions brew and enemies close in, Shaherazade and her father persuade the Malik to join Saladin’s crusade. Set in twelfth-century Persia, this richly imagined novel brings Shaherazade to life as a brilliant storyteller who fights for survival and peace with her tales. Jamila Ahmed’s debut is a tribute to the art of storytelling and the medieval Islamic world.

Every Rising Sun is the November 2024 selection for SDMA’s  Art of Reading book club.
Hardcover
432 pages