Hooves And The Hovel Of Abdel Jameela by Saladin Ahmed

“Hooves And The Hovel Of Abdel Jameela” is a 2009 speculative fiction short story by Saladin Ahmed. It is about an ancient Middle-Eastern doctor who helps a very strange couple.

Salaam Aleikum

Peace be upon you my short story reading friends! Have I ever mentioned that I studied Arabic for two years in college? No? Well I did. And why did I do that you might ask? For the obvious reason of course: I liked the way it looked. But oh my goodness, it ended up being one of the most difficult classes I ever took! I enjoyed it immensely however. Why am I telling you this? I don’t know, maybe because the excellent story that follows has several Arabic words in it and a lot of Middle Eastern culture. Why don’t you dive right in and see for yourself how beautiful it is!

Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell

A young, well-read physician in the Caliph’s court has been banished to the small village of Beit Zujaaj. Why? Did he do something atrocious? Nope – he was just poor and dared to love a girl whose dowry he could never afford. Anyway, now that he is in the village he finds its inhabitants to be a little bit backwards and boring – that is until he visits the house of the local hermit, who makes a very strange (and potentially soul-killing) request.

My Two Cents…

• The author’s writing style combined with the tone of this story make for some luscious story telling! Mm-mm!
• I love the suspense and pacing in “Hooves And The Hovel Of Abdel Jameela” – it starts out calm enough, but quickly progresses to some really weird stuff!
• Given my amateur-ish interest in the Middle East I very much enjoyed the setting of this story – a small, old Arabian village. Ah… I can only dream of such places!

Interesting Tidbits About This Story:

• Page Count: 12
• Word Count: 6,128
• Did you know that Saladin Ahmed grew up reading Marvel Comics and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons rulebooks? Ah… a man after my own heart! But don’t take my word for it – learn more about this excellent author on his web site.
• Special thanks to Jason Sanford for recommending this great story.

Where You Can Find Hooves And The Hovel Of Abdel Jameela:

• This story was originally published in the 2009 anthology Clockwork Phoenix 2: More Tales of Beauty and Strangeness.
• You can read a nice online version of “Hooves And The Hovel Of Abdel Jameela” at the web site Fantasy Book Critic.

Craving More Stories?

If you enjoyed “Hooves And The Hovel Of Abdel Jameela” then you might also like The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate by Ted Chiang – about a fabric merchant in ancient Baghdad who discovers a time portal.

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