Sunset Najwa - New Edition

Hachette Antoine, under the Naufal imprint, is proud to present the towering works of Mikhail Naimy, one of the most prominent contemporary Arab writers and a leading figure among Lebanese diaspora writers. His writings are distinguished by their attempts to purify Arabic literature of embellishment and superfluous language, striving instead for a more realistic portrayal of things and events. His style is characterized by simplicity, clarity, and directness, avoiding excessive expression, particularly in description, narration, and imagery. His language sometimes even resembles colloquial speech, which further enhances the appeal of his books to readers of all ages.
Mikhail Naimy was eighty-four years old when his "Sunset Whispers" was published, and he believed he would be nearing the end of his life. Therefore, this book is unusual in its form; it is neither prose as we are accustomed to prose writing, nor poetry as poetry is understood. Rather, from beginning to end, it is a single prayer, a one-sided dialogue between the worshipper and his Lord, who remains eternally present, listening without answering.
And so, his blessings are able to offer to his Lord, with utmost humility, fervent devotion, and unparalleled spontaneity, the essence of a lifetime of intellectual toil, spiritual struggle, profound emotion, and a penetrating journey through time into the realm of the transcendent. And because it best embodies the nature of this prayer—the dialogue in both form and content—it has become:
I am your child, my Lord.
It is the land
The beautiful, the kind,
The one who called me into her embrace
It is only the distance of the cradle
I am including some of it here. Mikhail Naimy was eighty-four years old when this book was published, and he believed it would be his last before his death. For this reason, the work was published in this unusual form; it is neither prose in the literal sense, nor poetry in the conventional sense. The book is a soliloquy, in which Naimy delves into the realms through which he has always expressed himself to his readers, using elegant language and profound emotion that transports the reader beyond the material world, addressing the relationship between human beings, and their relationship with God, the universe, and creation.