"Al-Thob" by Talib Al-Rifai Shortlisted for the Jean-Luc Lagardère Prize and the Institut du Monde Arabe

The Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation, in collaboration with the Institut du Monde Arabe, announced the official shortlist for the 2026 edition, which included eight novels. Among them was Taleb Al-Rafai’s novel *Al-Thawb* (The Robe), originally published in Arabic by Al-Mada Publishing House in 2009. It was translated into French by Dr. Luc Barbillas and published by Actes Sud under the title *L’Impossible Roman de l’honorable monsieur K* (The Impossible Novel of the Honorable Mr. K). The novel recounts the life of a millionaire who hires writer Taleb Al-Rafai to pen his true autobiography, and the two sign a contract to that effect. As recording sessions begin between the merchant and the writer Al-Rafai, many truths emerge regarding the millionaire’s way of life and his family relationships with his wife and children. This discovery provokes the domineering wife and the children, who have no desire to expose their private lives and have them published in a novel. Consequently, a conflict erupts between the millionaire’s wife and writer Taleb Al-Rafai. *Al-Thawb* was previously translated into English under the title *Outclassed in Kuwait* in 2018, and a Spanish translation is currently underway. The Jean-Luc Lagardère and Institut du Monde Arabe Prize is one of the most important French literary awards, as it encompasses all foreign novels translated into French from various world literatures. Al-Rafai’s novel *Kidnapping the Beloved*, translated into French as *Les Portes Du Paradis* (The Gates of Paradise) and also published by Actes Sud, had previously reached the shortlist of this same prize in an earlier edition.