# Celestial Bodies > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Celestial_Bodies > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Celestial_Bodies.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_Bodies > Source revision: 1316313567 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 2010 novel by Jokha Alharthi For the large natural physical entities in space, see [Astronomical object](/source/Astronomical_object). Celestial Bodies First English edition Author Jokha Alharthi Original title سيدات القمر Translator Marilyn Booth Language Arabic Genre Fiction Published 2010 (Arabic) 2018 (English) Publisher Dar al-Adab (Oman) Sandstone Press (England) Catapult Books (US) Media type Print, digital Pages 243 Awards International Booker Prize ISBN 1912240165 (Sandstone Press) ***Celestial Bodies*** ([Arabic](/source/Arabic_language): سيدات القمر, [romanized](/source/Romanization_of_Arabic): *Sayyidat al-Qamar*, [lit.](/source/Literal_translation) 'Ladies of the Moon') is a 2010 novel by [Omani](/source/Oman) author [Jokha Alharthi](/source/Jokha_Alharthi). The novel follows the lives of three sisters and their unhappy marriages in al-Awafi, Oman.[1][2] The novel has been translated into over 20 languages[3] and marks the first novel by an Omani woman to be translated into English,[4] as well as the first Omani novel to be translated to [Italian](/source/Italian_language).[5] The original novel won the [Best Omani Novel Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Best_Omani_Novel_Award&action=edit&redlink=1) in 2010[6] and was longlisted for the [Sheikh Zayed Book Award](/source/Sheikh_Zayed_Book_Award) in the 'Young Author' category in 2011.[7] In 2019, the English translation was awarded the [International Booker Prize](/source/International_Booker_Prize), with Alharthi and translator [Marilyn Booth](/source/Marilyn_Booth) equally sharing the £50,000 prize.[8] Celestial Bodies is also the first novel to be translated from [Arabic](/source/Arabic) to win the prize.[4] ## Reception *[Kirkus Reviews](/source/Kirkus_Reviews)* described *Celestial Bodies* as "a richly layered, ambitious work that teems with human struggles and contradictions, providing fascinating insight into Omani history and society",[9] while *[Publishers Weekly](/source/Publishers_Weekly)* expressed that the novel "rewards readers willing to assemble the pieces of Alharthi’s puzzle into a whole, and is all the more satisfying for the complexity of its tale."[10] *[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)* stated that Alharthi "gives each chapter, in loose rotation, to the voice of a single character, and so makes contemporary female interiority crucial to her book while accommodating a variety of very different world views",[11] while *[The Irish Times](/source/The_Irish_Times)* commented that the novel "deftly undermines recurrent stereotypes about Arab language and cultures but most importantly brings a distinctive and important new voice to world literature."[12] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Wood, James (2019-10-07). ["An Omani Novel Exposes Marriage and Its Miseries"](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/14/an-omani-novel-exposes-marriage-and-its-miseries). *The New Yorker*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0028-792X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0028-792X). Retrieved 2023-06-04. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_2-0)** Cronin, Michael. ["Celestial Bodies review: Jokha Alharti is a distinctive and important new voice to world literature"](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/celestial-bodies-review-jokha-alharti-is-a-distinctive-and-important-new-voice-to-world-literature-1.3884818). *The Irish Times*. Retrieved 2023-06-04. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Bedirian, Razmig (2020-02-08). ["Jokha Alharthi struggled to get prize-winning 'Celestial Bodies' published in English"](https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/books/jokha-alharthi-struggled-to-get-prize-winning-celestial-bodies-published-in-english-1.975590). *The National*. Retrieved 2023-06-04. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_4-1) Silcox, Beejay (2019-10-21). ["The First Arabic Novel to Win the International Booker Prize"](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/21/books/review/celestial-bodies-jokha-alharthi.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0362-4331](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2023-06-04. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["'Celestial Bodies' becomes first Omani novel to get Italian translation"](https://www.muscatdaily.com/2022/10/25/celestial-bodies-becomes-first-omani-novel-to-get-italian-translation/). *Muscat Daily*. 2022-10-25. Retrieved 2023-06-04. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Man Booker International Prize 2019 winner announced"](https://web.archive.org/web/20201030193813/https://thebookerprizes.com/resources/media/pressreleases/man-booker-international-prize-2019-winner-announced). *The Booker Prizes*. 2019-05-31. Archived from [the original](https://thebookerprizes.com/resources/media/pressreleases/man-booker-international-prize-2019-winner-announced) on 2020-10-30. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Overshadowed Zayed Book Award Announces Longlist in 'Young Author' Category"](https://arablit.org/2011/12/14/zayed-book-award-announces-longlist-in-young-author-category/). *ARABLIT & ARABLIT QUARTERLY*. 2011-12-14. Retrieved 2023-06-04. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Edemariam, Aida (2019-07-08). ["Jokha Alharthi: 'A lot of women are really strong, even though they are slaves'"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/08/jokha-alharthi-a-lot-of-women-are-really-strong-even-though-they-are-slaves). *The Guardian*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0261-3077](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0261-3077). Retrieved 2023-06-04. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Celestial Bodies"](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jokha-alharthi/celestial-bodies-alharthi/). *Kirkus Reviews*. 2019-07-27. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Celestial Bodies"](https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-948226-94-3). *Publishers Weekly*. 2019-07-31. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["An Omani Novel Exposes Marriage and Its Miseries"](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/14/an-omani-novel-exposes-marriage-and-its-miseries). *The New Yorker*. 2019-10-07. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Celestial Bodies review: Jokha Alharti is a distinctive and important new voice to world literature"](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/celestial-bodies-review-jokha-alharti-is-a-distinctive-and-important-new-voice-to-world-literature-1.3884818). *The Irish Times*. 2019-05-18. v t e International Booker Prize winners 2005–2016 Ismail Kadare (2005) Chinua Achebe (2007) Alice Munro (2009) Philip Roth (2011) Lydia Davis (2013) László Krasznahorkai (2015) 2016–present The Vegetarian (2016) A Horse Walks Into a Bar (2017) Flights (2018) Celestial Bodies (2019) The Discomfort of Evening (2020) At Night All Blood Is Black (2021) Tomb of Sand (2022) Time Shelter (2023) Kairos (2024) Heart Lamp (2025) Taiwan Travelogue (2026) Authority control databases VIAF --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Celestial Bodies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_Bodies) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_Bodies?action=history)). 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