Islam Quintet

Five nuanced and powerful historical novels depicting the clashes among Muslims, Christians, and Jews from the Crusades to twenty-first-century London. Celebrated British-Pakistani journalist and author Tariq Ali takes a mind-expanding journey through the ages with these five acclaimed works of fiction, available now in one collection. Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree: "e;Ali captures the humanity and splendor of Muslim Spain"e; in "e;an enthralling story, unraveled with thrift and verve"e; (The Independent). For the doomed Moors, the fall of Granada and the approaching forces of Christendom bring not peace but the sword. The Book of Saladin: After Saladin reclaims the holy city of Jerusalem from the Crusaders, he turns to a Jewish scribe to record his story, which Edward Said calls "e;a narrative for our time, haunted by distant events and characters who are closer to us than we had dreamed."e; The Stone Woman: "e;Ali paints a vivid picture of a fading world,"e; proclaims the New York Times Book Review, as a distant descendant of an exiled Ottoman courtier suffers a stroke in Istanbul, and his family rushes to his side to hear his last stories. A Sultan in Palermo: In "e;a marvelously paced and boisterously told novel of intrigue, love, insurrection and manipulation,"e; cartographer Muhammad al-Idrisi is caught between his friendship with King Roger of Sicily and the resentments of his fellow Muslims (The Guardian). Night of the Golden Butterfly: A Lahore-born writer living in London is called back to his homeland by an old friend who, at seventy-five, has finally fallen in love. "e;If Pakistan is a land of untold stories,"e; writes the New Statesman, Ali is "e;the country's finest historian and critic."e;