Vodolazkin will be responsible for Russian literature in Sharjah

Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Chekhov replaced Marx, Engels and Lenin

The 42nd International Book Fair opened in the capital of the emirate Sharjah. It mainly presents literature published in Arabic in the Middle East – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon, as well as books from Pakistan, India, Great Britain and South Korea. The Russian pavilion was also opened, where Evgeniy Vodolazkin became the main writer.

Visitors to the fair resemble pieces on a chessboard – women in black, men in white. This is traditional clothing in the Middle East. The Emir of Sharjah, playwright, author of scientific works, His Highness Sultan bin Mohammed al-Qasimi, patronizes the fair and will certainly appear on the opening day. He gave a speech about Arabic as one of the most original languages, and said that it was also the language of Adam. His words are now quoted by all local media.

This year’s slogan is “We speak the language of books.” South Korea became the guest of honor at the fair. People who don’t know a single Korean word came to listen to the poet from Seoul. But you could feel the music of his lines – it’s very beautiful. The South Korean stand also attracts guests from Seoul with traditional national clothing.

This is only the third year that a Russian stand has been operating in Sharjah, although it is rather dormant. There is no activity there, there are almost no visitors, and the books are presented in Russian, mainly for children. Just like a year ago, the work of Evgeniy Vodolazkin is also richly represented, including “Laurel”. Also on display are publications by Oberiuts, in particular Alexander Vvedensky and Nikolai Zabolotsky, beautifully published books about Bahrain and other Middle Eastern countries. By the way, the pavilion of this state is the most attractive at the fair, gracefully fenced off from visitors like a curtain of sticks hanging on white threads.

Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Chekhov replaced the usual triad of Marx-Engels-Lenin. They, from the same perspective as the leader of the world proletariat and his spiritual comrades, adorn the cover of a book from Syria. The works of Chekhov and Gorky in Arabic are still represented by Middle Eastern book publishers.

Rare publications from Europe and Asia dating back several centuries are on display. Under glass is a rare book, open to a page depicting an ancient Palestinian city. This is a print from the so-called wet paper negatives, dating back to approximately 1849-1851. Among the rarities is the original script for the British film “Lawrence of Arabia” by David Lean with pencil notes in the margins. It was released in 1962 and starred Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness, and Omar Sharif. The script is accompanied by black and white photographs from the set.