{"product_id":"9798891060364-book-of-rain","title":"Book of Rain","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNamed a Best Book of 2025 by Books Without Borders\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA vivid translation of Abū Zayd alAnṣārī’s early Arabic weather lexicon, Book of Rain reveals a richly detailed linguistic landscape devoted to the many forms of rain.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe contents of the future are the contents of a cloud.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo begins translator David Larsen’s introduction for the \u003ci\u003eBook of Rain\u003c\/i\u003e, the earliest known catalogue of Arabic weather-words, by early Arabic linguist Abū Zayd al-Anṣārī. In Larsen’s translation, Abū Zayd’s lexicography of rain is simultaneously an academic, archival, and poetic pursuit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the fashion of Larsen’s award-winning translation of \u003ci\u003eNames of the Lion\u003c\/i\u003e, these rich, extensive lists provide detailed descriptions of specific kinds of rainfall, including \u003ci\u003eal-tahtān\u003c\/i\u003e, or “The Outpour,” a kind of continual rain, or \u003ci\u003eal-waṭfā’\u003c\/i\u003e, or “The Beetle-Brow” which  is a “briskly-flowing rain that is counted among the continual rains, whether it is of long or short falling.” Here, we are provided language for frosts, dews, thunder, lightning, clouds, and, of course, the various and plentiful words for waters. Coupled with Larsen’s introduction, the \u003ci\u003eBook of Rain\u003c\/i\u003e is a source of endless interdisciplinary inquiry which will continue to fascinate readers for centuries to come.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56396058198390,"sku":"9798891060364","price":17.6,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_36099372.jpg?v=1759749985","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9798891060364-book-of-rain","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}