The Finest Thief in the Kingdom: Libyan Tales from Sadeq Naihoum

The collection's title, Min Qisas Alatfal, literally means Children's Tales, however these stories are far from your average bedtime read. They are socio-political tales told from a satirical and critical perspective. Naihoum writes about his native Libya, bringing to life a wonderful tableau of characters from Sultans and Faqihs to dervishes, thieves, and beggars. His writing sheds light on the dark corners of power and religion, social injustice and racism. This short story collection was published in 2002 by Tala Publishers as part of Maktabit Naihoum (Naihoum Library) project.