Hekayat Al-Hosn w Al-Hozn (“Tales of Beauty and Sadness”), by: Ahmed Shawqy Ali, Beirut: Dar Al-Adab, 2014.

Lebanese publishing house, Dar Al-Adab, has announced a new novel by young Egyptian writer, Ahmed Shawqy Ali, entitled Hekayat Al-Hosn w Al-Hozn (“Tales of Beauty and Sadness”), the novel is expected to be in stores by the end of the year.

Built upon on the Mu'tazil principle of divine justice, the novel focuses on the life of its protagonist Gharib, who is transformed into a ghost against his will. He decides to use his new super powers gained from his new entity to create his dream fairy. He does not create her directly, but rather through weaving a new life that he imagines in his own mind.

Although the character of Gharib appeared in Ali's first book, The Cats also Draw Pictures the writer does not see Tales of Beauty and Sadness as its continuation. Rather, the continuation of Gharib’s character is Ali’s way of using the first book as a launch pad for his current novel,

Ahmed Shawqy Ali, is a young writer and journalist born in 1988. He is currently the culture editor at Al-Ahram and released his first book,The Cats also Draw Pictures - a collection of short stories - in 2010. He has published articles and creative writing pieces in many literary magazines and periodicals.