Absent themes in modern Arabic literature

Dr..

Kamal Abdul Malik

September 09 2022

In a previous article, I mentioned that compared to the volume of fictional literature available to the American reader, and the topics addressed by American publications, we find that there are topics that are absent in what is published in our Arab world.

The absence of these topics in Arabic writings deserves to be contemplated and scrutinized, as the absent topic may have a much stronger significance than its present counterpart.

The detective novel or crime literature in the West has a long history, among which we mention the novels of the French Arsene Lupine, which we enjoyed reading when we were young, and the British novels of Agatha Christie, who introduced us to the character of Detective Hercule Poirot, which is still read and watched in the form of films shown on the “Netflix” platform. in this time.

But we must mention that critics and academics classify the detective novel as a second-class literature, even if it occupies the first place in terms of popularity.

In the sixties of the last century, young readers in Egypt were eagerly following the police novels, such as the series “The Five Adventurers” by Mahmoud Salem, and “The Impossible Man” by Nabil Farouk. A rivalry to the works of great writers, such as Naguib Mahfouz, Youssef al-Sibai, Youssef Idris, and Tawfiq al-Hakim, who dealt with crime in their works, as we find in “The Thief and the Dogs” by Naguib Mahfouz and “Diaries of a Representative in the Countryside.”

Do we now have famous writers who specialize in this type of fiction?

We do not find novels about sports, such as football, and its famous professionals, despite the fact that the competition between football clubs in the Emirates, in Egypt or in other Arab countries is known to stir up the feelings of the masses, and was used by Tawfiq al-Hakim in “The Bank of Concern” (1966). parallel to the political divisions.

As for humor, we note the absence of the Arabic novel, whose function is limited to play, pleasant amusement, and temporary pleasure.

Yes, at an early age, Naguib El-Rihani (1891-1949) established the strong social link between humor and criticism of customs in Egyptian society in its various layers. He was followed by bold cynics, as we find in the play “The Oedipus Comedy” (1970) by Ali Salem (1936-2015). ).

where the king tries in vain to convince the hero-hungry masses that he didn't kill a monster, or in "The Planners" by Youssef Idris, where a successful revolutionary leader decides that everyone should wear only black and white stripes, and finally comes to the conclusion that people need color in their lives. However, his immediate aides formed a new institution that abhors change, and when he tried to announce the new decisions, they drowned out his voice by recording an earlier speech.

There is no doubt, then, that there are short stories and novels that contain humorous themes, but novels built entirely around the idea of ​​an entertaining comic are few.

An early exception is likely in Ibrahim Abdel-Qader Al-Mazni's story A Return to Beginning (1943), in which we read of a man dreaming of becoming a child, while retaining the imaginations of an adult, however, with the exception of some of the writings of Al-Mazini and Ali Salem, no novelist has been proven Arab himself mainly as a humorist, such as Art Buchwald or B.

J.

The PG Wodehouse in the Arab world.

Will we see in the near future Arabic books that address these absent topics?

Visiting Scholar at Harvard University

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