Longing for the Woman Next Door

Published by Dar Al-Adab, The Longing for the Woman Next Door (Al-Ishtiyaq Ila Al-Jarah) by celebrated Tunisian author Habib Selmi—shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction and winner of the Katara Prize—is a subtle, psychologically acute study of identity, class, and desire. Set in a Paris apartment building, the story centers on Kamal Ashour, a 60-year-old Tunisian university professor married to a French woman. Kamal's predictable life shifts dramatically when he builds a connection with Zohra, an uneducated 50-year-old Tunisian woman working as a housekeeper in the same building. Initially viewing her with intellectual condescension and caution, Kamal finds himself drawn into an unexpected, turbulent obsession, seeing in her a living bridge to his homeland, native dialect, and buried emotional needs. Through restrained, realist prose, Selmi dissects cultural dissonance, male vulnerability, and the fragility of intellectual defense mechanisms.

It is a masterclass in psychological realism that explores the tensions between class, cultural assimilation, and raw desire through an engaging, deceptively simple narrative.

Ideal for readers of translated modern Arabic fiction, fans of realistic character studies, and scholars interested in diaspora literature, social dynamics, and North African immigrant experiences in Europe.