Casa Árabe and the Almuzara publishing firm have organized the presentation of the book, “Noah’s Ark,” by Egyptian author Khaled Al Khamissi, at an event which is taking place as part of the Cordoba Book Fair, in which our institution is taking part for yet another year.

The presentation will be given by the author himself, along with the publisher, Antonio Cuesta.

The acclaimed author of the novel Taxi is having his first work published in Spanish, “Noah’s Ark” (“El Arca de Noé”), with the publishing firm Almuzara. The novel is extraordinary in its prophetic force about the destiny of one of the most ancient civilizations, and it provides a viewpoint as exciting as it is thoughtful about emigration as a phenomenon of our times. The story narrates the fascinating adventures of twelve characters, men and women from a wide range of social classes, whose fates cross paths sooner or later after leaving Egypt in search of a better future, or simply as a way to flee from adversity. Through these stories, streaked with friendship, love, hate, greed, and more, a true portrait of contemporary Egypt is painted.


Khaled Al Khamissi
Born in Cairo, Egypt. After earning his degree in Political Science at the University of Cairo, he also completed his doctorate at La Sorbonne. Taxi, his first book, was a bestseller from the very moment it was published, in January 2007. Since then, it has been translated in countless different countries, including England, the United States, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Greece and Korea, as well as being published throughout the Arab world. The author is also a producer, film director and prestigious journalists who contributes to several Egyptian and French newspapers on a weekly basis.
 

Casa Árabe and the publishing firm Takatuka invite all boys and girls to this activity, which will be put on by Lucía Moreno Blasco, a children’s activity performer.

Moreno Blasco will be presenting this exciting story, a work by Susana Gómez Redondo, with illustrations by Sonja Wimmer, published by the Takatuka publishing firm, on friendship and the value of meeting children from other countries who speak languages other than our own...

“The day Saida arrived, it seemed to me like she had forgotten all the words she knew. So I tried to look for them in every hidden corner, in holes, drawers and stitches… to see whether I could use them to wipe away the tears which she shed down her long eyelashes in thick silence. The day Saida arrived, Daddy explained to me that my friend probably hadn’t lost all of her words, but instead she probably didn’t feel like taking them all out from inside her, because they were different from the words here. –In Morocco– he said– your words wouldn’t do you much good either. And that is how I found out that in Saida’s country they speak a different language from ours: Arabic.”

Susana Gómez Redondo (text)
Born in Soria in 1969, she has earned degrees in Information Sciences, Literary Theory and Comparative Literature. At present, she gives classes on Teaching Spanish Language at the Soria University’s School of Education and writes children’s and youth literature for the cultural supplement of El Norte de Castilla. She is the author of travel guidebooks and short stories. Her love of children’s literature came with the birth of her son, and since then she has published three illustrated albums and a children’s poetry album.

Sonja Wimmer (illustration)
Born in Munich in 1974, Ms. Wimmer moved to Barcelona to study illustration at La Llotja, Advanced Design School, and since then she has lived and worked in that city, amid paintbrushes, colors and magical worlds, making illustrations for publishing firms from different countries. In 2011, she was given a prize at the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards and in 2012 the International Latino Book Awards.