''Leg Over Leg'' is a book by

Ahmad Faris Shidyaq Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq ( ar, أحمد فارس الشدياق, ; born Faris ibn Yusuf al-Shidyaq; born 1805 or 1806; died 20 September 1887) was a scholar, writer and journalist who grew up in what is now present-day Lebanon. A Maronite Christia ...

, considered one of the founders of modern

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from ...

. Detailing the life of 'the Fariyaq', the alter ego of the author, offering commentary on intellectual and social issues, it is described as "always edifying and often hilarious", "the finest, wildest, funniest and most surprising novel in Arabic", and " nunclassifiable book". It was originally published in 1855 in Arabic in Paris. In 2014, there was an English translation by

Humphrey T. Davies Humphrey T. Davies (6 April 1947 – 12 November 2021) was a British translator of Arabic fiction, historical and classical texts. Born in Great Britain, he studied Arabic in college and graduate school. He has worked for decades in the Arab wor ...

published by NYU Press.

History

The book was first published in Arabic 1855 in France. The author did not publish it in his homeland,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, probably because of the book's comments on religion.

References

1855 books Arabic-language novels {{1850s-novel-stub