The novel “The Man with Forty Riyals” by the French writer Voltaire, recently published by the Syrian General Book Organization, presents an example of the literature of this author, which mixed the critical character with the skill of photography.

This novel tells of a man who owns land that gives 40 riyals each year, but the French royal government is demanding that he  pay half of this amount because it sees itself as a partner in it.

Homsi novelist Nidaa Al-Hussein won the Hanna Mina Award for Novel organized by the Syrian Ministry of Culture for her novel "Olga", in which she monitors the transformations in Syrian society before, during and after the war, according to Olga, the main character in the novel. Then she moves to describe the Russian environment when Olga migrates with her mother to Russia, as her father is Syrian and her mother is Russian.

Concerning her success,  Al-Hussein said, “I didn't want to win as much as I wanted to tell the cultural and media community that I'm here, and I write. Why don't you celebrate with me?" This is what I was concerned with as I submitted the required copies of the novel, and I achieved what I wanted, regardless of the prize’s value. My work “Olga” is what I wanted, as it is considered the most important prize for a novel in Syria.

Damascus (ST):  “The Absurdity of Politics, Testimonies of Real Events” by the researcher Dr. Mahdi Dakhlallah casts light on the transformations of the contemporary international system in order to reach a new system to replace uni-polarity.

Dakhlallah pointed out in his book that the struggle against imperialism requires real action at all levels, especially the economic one, and that power is not just a means, but a culture and a state of consciousness, noting that the Europeans act on this basis.

The book talks about the beauty of Damascus because it contains the beauty of history. It is the steadfastness, and it is the city that has been looking forward to glory and greatness since time immemorial.

The deeply-rooted Arab nation, hailed throughout history by many prominent scholars and historians known for their objectivity in their writings, has been exposed to deliberate distortion attempts led by western orientalists such as the American orientalist Gustave von Grunebaum.

In his new book “Arab Countries and Entities in the Levant before Isalm”, Dr. Khalf Al-Jarad, a Syrian writer and journalist, presented an intensified study for the historical, geographical and linguistic discussions about the Levant concluded by most specialized researchers and historians who are known for their honesty neutrality and objectivity. This book, which was published by the Syrian General Organization of Books, provided a different outlook to those presented by the writers who are biased towards the orientalists' ideas which have links to colonialism and Zionism.

Dr. Al-Jarad’s study is an attempt to correct a set of historical, cultural and ideological concepts and fallacies included in many biased and malicious studies on the Arab region in general and the Levant in particular.   

"Female Shadow and Light" a book by a Syrian writer on the experience of feminist plastic art in Austria

Damascus (ST): "Female Shadow and Light" is a book by Syrian writer Talal Mortada about the women's plastic experience in Austria.

Mortada begins the book with a historical overview of plastic life in Austria and its capital, Vienna, which he likens to Damascus, pointing out that he collected this book from newspaper articles published on women's artistic experiences.