Book
Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree
Set in al-Andalus after the surrender of Granada in 1492, the novel follows the fictional al-Hudayl family as Castilian rule closes around the remaining Muslim population. Their household must respond to forced conversion, the destruction of Arabic books and the growing power of the Inquisition while deciding whether to submit, resist or leave the land their family has inhabited for generations. Through domestic loyalties and political fear, the book portrays the end of Muslim Granada and the human consequences of the Reconquista.
The family's predicament reflects the rapid transformation of the settlement promised at Granada. Initial guarantees for Muslim religion and property give way to coercive conversion, censorship and pressure on language and custom. The novel treats that change through household decisions, showing how conquest becomes permanent not only through soldiers and officials but through attempts to remake memory, worship and everyday life.
Historical Periods
Genres
More from this period
5 more top-rated novels about Al-Andalus
Ranked by rating and voting volume; books already shown on this page are omitted.
More from this period
4 more top-rated novels about Fall of Granada
Ranked by rating and voting volume; books already shown on this page are omitted.
Discover more
Authors similar to Tariq Ali
Recommended from shared genres and periods.
Elif Shafak
9 books
Cecelia Holland
20 books
Colin Falconer
22 books
K. M. Ashman
37 books
Paul Bannister
16 books