A Sultan in Palermo
The fourth novel in Tariq Ali's 'Islam Quintet' charts the life and loves of the medieval cartographer Muhammed al-Idrisi. Torn between his close friendship with the sultan and his friends who are leaving the island or plotting a resistance to Norman rule, Idrisi finds temporary solace in the harem; but his conscience is troubled...
A Sultan in Palermo is a mythic novel in which pride, greed, and lust intermingle with resistance and greatness. It echoes a past that can still be heard today.
Praise for the Islam Quintet:
"A richly woven tapestry that even before its completion merits comparison with Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo trilogy." Kirkus Reviews
Paperback, 246 pages
ISBN: 9781844671014
October 2006
$16.95 / £7.99
Other Editions
ISBN: 9781844670253
July 2005
$24.00 / £12.99
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Part of the The Islam Quintet series
Reviews
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“A marvelously paced and boisterously told novel of intrigue, love, insurrection and manipulation.”
Blog
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Vancouver’s Georgia Straight reviews Night of the Golden Butterfly
Charles Demers has reviewed Tariq Ali's Night of the Golden Butterfly—the concluding novel in the acclaimed Islam Quintet—for Vancouver's Georgia Straight, opening with the tale of Edward Said's encouragement of the project. -
“What needs to be said isn’t being said”—Tariq Ali interviewed for the Karachi Herald
Read the full text of Razeshta Sethna's interview with Tariq Ali for the Karachi Herald in which the author talks about his now complete Islam Quintet and the experience of writing fiction ...
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“An Elegy to Fatherland”—Night of the Golden Butterfly reviewed by Razeshta Sethna for the Karachi Herald
In the first review of Night of the Golden Butterfly to come out of 'Fatherland', Razeshta Sethna describes Tariq Ali as paying "perfect attention to detail, reminding the reader of the merits of Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy."
Discussions
Begin a discussionOther books by Tariq Ali
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The Book of Saladin
by Tariq Ali -
Bush in Babylon
by Tariq Ali -
The Clash of Fundamentalisms
by Tariq Ali
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Kashmir: The Case for Freedom
by Tariq Ali, Hilal Bhatt, et al. -
Masters of the Universe?
Edited by Tariq Ali -
Night of the Golden Butterfly
by Tariq Ali
