Novel
فكرة
Not translated into English
Ahmad al-Sibai · 1948
Synopsis
Idea: on the outskirts of Taif, Salem, a young married Meccan and father of a family, meets a young Bedouin shepherdess named Fikra. Their long conversations give rise to an attraction between them, but the depth of the girl's ideas, who refuses to submit to the customs of her time, is beyond Salem, who returns to his family. Through Fikra's voice, the novel reviews the questions of society: love, guilt, crime, madness, the lavishness of weddings, the right to see one's fiancée before marriage.
Context
Published in 1948, the book is counted, according to Saudipedia, among the first Saudi novels to place a woman alone at the centre of the narrative. Arabpedia sees in it a reformist and educational work, directed against outdated traditions, and Barbara Michalak-Pikulska, in Folia Orientalia in 2001, ranks the author among the pioneers of Saudi realism. The author entrusts the ideas to the heroine's dialogue rather than to events and leaves the other characters in the background; critics have judged such depth implausible in a young shepherdess and have read in her the writer's mouthpiece, whose preface is addressed to his sons.
Who it is for
A novel driven by an argument, carried by its dialogue; no French or English translation has been found.
Prizes and reception
Mansour al-Hazmi regarded Sibai as the pioneer of the Saudi short story, gifted with a rare sense of drama.
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