Themes of oppression and exile dominate novels on Arabic Booker Prize shortlist

Azher Jirjees employs his excellent narrative skills and a language that mixes realism and dark comedy to capture the life of Iraqis and the crises and conflicts of this society through different protagonists and characters.

On the other hand, the author paints a poetic, dreamy picture of how to get rid of oppression and injustice through dreams and hope, for when the young man attaches his hopes to his stone of happiness, he forgets all his worries.

"Drought" by Al-Sadiq Haj Ahmed

Desert literature has long been associated with Libyan novelists such as Ibrahim al-Koni, but Al-Sadiq Haj Ahmed embarks on his desert novel journey from Algeria, armed with a different writing and narration perspective. He tells the story of a group of people forced by the harsh conditions of life and the drought that plagued their valleys to migrate and scatter in southern Algeria and the Tamanrasset region.

From there, they move to southern Libya, take part in the Chad war, fall into captivity, and then leave to northern Mali in search of hope once again.

What's most striking in this novel is its strangely unique lexicon. The writer appears to be keen to use a language that reflects the nature, roughness, and dryness of life. While such use of peculiar vocabulary is common in the literary world, it seems unique to readers who are not familiar with such terminology.

Throughout the novel, the reader encounters lengthy sentences and unfamiliar vocabulary, which the author justifies with his desire to truly capture the language, vocabulary, and world of the desert. He seems keen to document the customs and traditions of desert tribes which have a distinct cultural heritage, be they Tuaregs, Hassanis, Kidals, or others.

The desert is pictured this time not as an adaptable, livable place, but rather as a cruel, brutal, and expelling environment that families seek to escape. The journey to escape the unforgiving desert is no less cruel than the desert itself, but there is hope, at least, in finding a more welcoming place to call home.

The reader embarks, along with these families, on an arduous journey fraught with difficulties and hardships, one where political and ethnic differences can affect destinies. The novel also reveals how those with power and authority exploit ordinary people, who get sucked into wars they have nothing to do with.

In particular, the author evokes the 1987 Chad war and the training camps in which members of these tribes get entangled in their bid to ensure a decent life for themselves wherever they go.

"The Exile of the Water Diviner" by Zahran Alqasmi

The theme of the desert and conquering drought also appear in Zahran Alqasmi's novel, "The Exile of the Water Diviner." Alqasmi takes us on a journey to the wilderness of the desert in search for the drops of water hidden among the rocks. The journey begins not with Salem, the child protagonist, but with his mother Maryam, "the drowned woman."

The novel opens with a disturbing scene that ushers the reader into this world and introduces him to "the drowned woman" as the people of the village gather around the well to find out who she is. Through a series of events, we discover what the village and the world of villagers looks like and how their relationships are established.

A distinctive lexicon is also used in this book, but readers will not have trouble reading and understanding the local Omani dialect, despite its unfamiliarity to their ears. This demonstrates the novelist's skill in combining the uniqueness of language with his ability to convey meaning through context, as evident in the dialogues between the villagers, which are all written in the local dialect, in harmony with the nature and realm of the novel.

If Salem's relationship with the earth, soil, and rocks is so unique that he hears the murmur of water from within, then there is no doubt that his relationship with others also carries another dimension, which is evident in the girl he sees shining from between the dunes of the desert.

While the desert is the symbol of cruelty and drought, water also has a special presence in this novel. People suffer from thirst, and the protagonist guides them to it in magical but seemingly realistic way, for life begins and ends with water.

When the villages suffer from drought and are hit by winds that destroy everything around them, they seek refuge from disasters and calamities in the mountains. After the danger has passed, they return and wait for the water that irrigates their land and restores life to them again, as if the natural cycle of life does not stop.

With its storytelling and narration, the novel evokes the first man and his world. In fact, history and time are not defined in the novel. It's a series of stories, a world in which we can drown as we ponder its details, interact with its characters, and contemplate their lives and fate.

"Concerto Qurina Eduardo" by Najwa Binshatwan

Najwa Binshatwan's novel takes us to Libya. The strange title will undoubtedly provoke the reader's curiosity, but it is only at the end of the novel that we understand it. The novel introduces us to a Libyan family whose members face the consequences of the decision to transform Libya into a "socialist" republic at the hands of Muammar Gaddafi in the 1970s, and the fate of that aristocratic family of Greek roots as an ethnic minority.

The novel is narrated by the protagonist, Reem, whose name is only revealed at the end of the novel. As she suffers from pronunciation problems, she resorts to expressing herself in writing. Reem writes about herself, her sister, her upbringing, the stories of her grandfather and grandmother.

She discusses the impact of political and social changes on them, how her grandfather fought against the nationalisation of his company, how he considered Gaddafi to be an irresponsible person from the beginning, and how the children dealt with these changes and transformations, leading to the 2011 revolution that brought down Gaddafi and the ensuing civil war.

In this book, Najwa Binshatwan captures a long history of crises, conflicts, and setbacks. The author revisits most political events that shaped Libya's recent history and describes their impact on Reem's family, starting with the exodus of the Jews from Libya in the sixties and ending with ISIS and its distortion of Libya's history by smuggling antiquities or oppressing families.

The author describes how these political changes affect the family members themselves. One goes on to join ISIS, while others are forced to immigrate. The family is dispersed and can no longer live in the country. In a shocking ending, the family learns of the daughter's death, in a painful allusion to those countries that oppress their citizens 'to death.'

"Days of the Shining Sun" by Miral al-Tahawy

From Egypt comes the novel of Miral al-Tahawy, which transports the reader into the world of migrants. She takes us on a journey with Naam al-Khabbaz, an Egyptian cleaning lady who begins her difficult life working between homes and soon immigrates to the "Land of the Shining Sun".

While the location of that land is not mentioned, we understand from the context and details that it refers to the other aspect of the United States (specifically Arizona) that most people do not talk about: a land of harsh and racist treatment, where the bright sun does not seem to shine on immigrants who struggle with the difficulties and hardships of life.   

Moving away from the world of the desert, this novel immerses us in civilisation. Yet, the cruelty, difficulty, and challenges are the same, although they come in different forms.

Naam Al-Khabbaz shares her tragedy with Ahmed al-Wakeel, who has his own different story. We also get to know Mimi Dong, the beautiful brunette fighting a cold war with Naam despite sharing her pain at the oppression and difficult treatment they face from others.

We are also introduced to another Egyptian called Najwa, who lacks beauty but tries to compensate for it with excellence. Najwa, too, faces the difficulties of life in Egypt, which brings her to the other side of the world, but problems continue to haunt her.

Then there's Salim al-Naggar, the free-minded and imaginative intellectual who seems different. After being displaced in his own country, Salim leaves to another country where he dreams of freedom and fulfillment, but his dreams clash with the harsh reality.

We also meet many other characters and discover multiple stories of oppressed heroes whose pains and dreams carried them to this strange new land, only for those dreams to be dashed, leaving them with nothing but a struggle to keep living. And what a life that is!

"The Highest Part of the Horizon" by Fatima Abdulhamid

Far from the worlds of immigration and deserts, Saudi novelist Fatima Abdel Hamid takes us on a different journey related to people, and their fears and ideas. Here the angel of death narrates the protagonists' stories.

In the book, we meet Suleiman, who discovers love late in life, after the death of his wife who was nearly 10 years his senior. He begins to explore life in its entirety through his distant yet close neighbour.

We get to know his children, their lives, and their intertwined stories, and how death weaves into each of these stories creating its own tale.

The novel is centred around Suleiman and his late discovery of life, as well as the stories of his children as they observe their father's transformation. Being the smart narrator that he is, the angel of death scornfully relates the events and stories of the characters and ends them abruptly. 

The idea of the novel seems very promising, especially at its beginning, as the reader explores its world, characters, and the challenges facing its protagonists.

Toward its middle, the narrative becomes more stable, focusing on a number of stories and tales that end with the angel of death taking the characters' souls. These stories are interspersed with phrases and sentences that express the role of the angel of death and his mission in life. The writer's skill shines through her distinctive use of language to express the various conditions and situations of the protagonists.

Let us examine this excerpt uttered by the angel of death: "I admit that the idea of killing disgusts me, especially when it comes to execution. I hate being brought by force to meet someone who does not want me and whom I do not want. And at that moment of execution, and only then, I am affected by the fear of those I must take, even if the feeling is not reciprocated."

"It is true that I am not tasked with fixing whatever collapses after me, because I am always in a hurry, but this does not mean that I do not feel regret from time to time."

"There have been some occasions in which I wished I was able to return a dead person to their family and undo the rough journey that I had started, because some of them take all remaining life with them after their departure. The people they leave behind are so attached to them that they empty their lives of everything but them."

Common themes

The Arabic Booker novels of this year revolve around the desert, immigration, the harshness of life at home and abroad, and the continuous search for shelter, home, and safety, whether on the surface of the earth or beneath it.

These are the haunting problems that humankind faces across the globe. Whether oppressed by the cruel and cold city, or tyrannised by the hot and dry desert, all humans strive for a world in which they can live their life and overcome difficulties at any cost.

The winner of the Arabic Booker 2023 prize will be announced at a ceremony organised by the prize management in the United Arab Emirates on 21 May.