Mukhabarat
Sleeping with the enemy
“Never sleep with a book reviewer,” said Samir El-Youssef.
The first time I heard his name was when I was asked to write an introduction to the Dutch edition of Gaza Blues.
After my trip to Lebanon (April 2007) I visited Samir in London where he has been living for more than twenty years.
And last night I finally interviewed Samir. He has a beautiful laugh, he can tell terrific jokes, especially about the Syrian secret service (Mukhabarat) and he is an interesting writer.
Samir explained why he was happy that his wife (who lives in Lebanon) could not read his books, which are written in English and not yet translated into Arabic.
“You don’t want to sleep with your critic,” he declared.
Soon one of my novels will be translated into Arabic. At least Samir’s wife will be able to read my novel. Of course this will prevent me from sleeping with her.
Mieke
Oops! You see, even on a easy sunday your dreams and fantasies can be destroyed just with one word. A home made dinner will probably be the closest you will ever get, but see it positively, we all need new targets once in a while.Strasse's partner
This is a bit too cryptic.Cryptic
As far as I understand Mieke reads your novels so that means ....Strasse's partner
I came the closest last evening. I still have a terrible hangover from to much cava.And I hope Mieke had some rest in the occasional(ly) hotelroom.
Thank you
Again, thank you for the great time yesterday. You were an excellent host.To all who were there: it was very nice meeting you.
Arnon
Okay... he lives in London and she lives in Lebanon. If that's their sleeping arrangement it doesn't sound very conjugal. (Actually possibly a more blissful marriage than most.)As a matter of curiosity, which of your novels is going to be translated into Arabic?
I am surprised that "De Joodse messias" hasn't been translated into German yet. In any case I couldn't find one on Amazon.de. Is there a reason for this deprivation of your potential German readers?
Carlos
"Tirza" is going to be published in Arabic.Diogenes will publish "The Jewish Messiah" in 2010 in Germany. First they are going to publish "Our Uncle".
Dear Strasses partner,
Some two, three weeks ago you wrote"I understood you're still a virgin"
and I asked
-From who or how did you understand this?
Could you answer this question.
Thank you ,
Eric
Dens
It was very nice of Tsjitze to let me crash in his hotelroom. A new experience for me especially because when I went to the toilet- a shared one in the middle of the hall- at five a clock in the morning, I met this woman who was clearly bringing a customer to her room.Keep us posted!
Saturday
To all companions of Saturday's adventure: it was great meeting you. Hope it won't be the last time. You made it bearable to be a groupie. The fact that there is no obligation to perform oral sex with the star helps as well.I never knew you were a scientist.
