The neighborhood that was

In Taher Al-Zahrani's stories, there is a great deal of the spirit of old Jeddah and its characters, including the mischief of the neighborhood boy, his kindness, and his playfulness. Added to that is a critical, resentful philosophy that is infused in his stories, which do not exhaust the reader but rather can be read quickly. However, they are not forgotten quickly. They are stories concerned with people, and if I wanted to describe them directly, I would say they wander among humans, get very close to them, and write about them with love and empathy. Perhaps one of the most beautiful features of these stories is that they are unpretentious and genuine. This is helped by a simple and transparent language filled with charming intimacy and spontaneity.