Yakhlif, Yahya 1944-

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YAKHLIF, Yahya 1944-

PERSONAL: Born 1944, in Samakh, Palestine.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Interlink Books, 46 Crosby St., Northampton, MA 01060-1804.

CAREER: Author.

WRITINGS:

Najran tahta al-sifr, Dar al-Adab (Beirut, Lebanon), 1975.

Tuffah al-majanin, Dar al-Haqa'iq (Beirut, Lebanon), 1982.

Nashid al-hayah, Dar al-Haqa'iq (Beirut, Lebanon), 1985.

Tilka al-laylah al-tawilah, Dar al-Adab (Beirut, Lebanon), 1992.

Buhayrah wara' al-rih (novel), Mu'assasat al-Aswar (Akka, Lebanon), 1997, translated by May Jayyusi and Christopher Tingley as A Lake beyond the Wind, Interlink Books (Northampton, MA), 1998.

Nahr yastahimmu f'i buhayrah: riw' ayah, Dar Sharq'iy 'at lil-Nashr (B'ab al-L'uq, al-Q'ahira), 2000.

Yawm'iy'at al-ijtiy'ah wa-al-sum'ud: shah'adah mayd'an'iyah, Mu'assasat al-Aswar (Akka, Lebanon), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Yahya Yakhlif is a Palestinian writer whose first work to be translated into English is A Lake beyond the Wind, a novel detailing the events that led the people of his native village, Samakh, into the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. The story begins before the conflict with a realistic portrayal of village life as neighbors prepare for a nebulous danger that has yet to be defined. As conditions worsen, the trains cease to run and the roads outside the village become unsafe for travel. The war begins, and Yakhlif offers multiple perspectives on how it affects not only the residents of Samakh but even their animals. The author also uses his various characters to muse on the difficulties facing the Arab Liberation Army, just as he uses a bulletproof vest that passes from hand to hand to symbolize the devastating effects of the violence.

In a Multicultural Review appraisal of A Lake beyond the Wind, Jaswinder Gundara praised the work for its portrayal of "heroism, corruption, ineptitude, pride, and bitterness as battles are fought and lost." Gundara called Yakhlif "a master storyteller," while a Publishers Weekly reviewer observed that although readers might find Yakhlif's plot "diffuse, or undramatic, his skilled depictions will more than compensate." In a World Literature Today critique, Ibrahim Dawood maintained that A Lake beyond the Wind "is invaluable both as a powerful document of the suffering which Palestinian people underwent in 1948 and as a novel of high esthetic and literary value." Washington Report on Middle East Affairs contributor Hugh Galford concluded: "Yakhlif's style is easy, almost conversational. The dread, the terror, and the slowly dawning hopelessness are beautifully described in his work. Though not a joyous work, it is compelling and lyrical. The warmth with which he describes the people of Samakh makes the reader feel a part of the community—and a partner in their loss."