دعاء الكروان

A classic of modern Arabic literature. After their father's death, young Amna, her mother, and her sister Hanadi are cast out of their village by a vengeful uncle. Hanadi takes work as a maid for an engineer who seduces and ruins her—and when the family's "honor" is stained, the uncle kills her before Amna's eyes. Consumed by grief, Amna enters the engineer's household intent on avenging her sister, only to find her thirst for revenge complicated by an unexpected, unwanted love. Set in rural Egypt, Taha Hussein's lyrical novel is a searing indictment of patriarchy, honor codes, and the oppression of women. Originally written in Arabic.