Saudi novelist Fatima Abdul Hamid on how everyone can be an IPAF winner

The Angel of Death

With her profile boosted by the IPAF, Fatima Abdul Hamid's narrator in The Farthest Horizon was worthy of attention. It was Azrael, the Angel of Death, who addresses the reader directly about the people he encounters and their reactions at the decisive moment. 

Through him, we meet Suleiman, a widower in his fifties, whose mother married him off when he was thirteen to a woman eleven years his senior. All his life, Suleiman has been looked after by various women and is unable to take care of himself or do the simplest things. With these qualities, his personality seems to go against the stereotype of the strong Arab man.

Suleiman remains alone in his apartment until he glimpses from his balcony the ghost of his neighbour, who becomes his partner in an unexpected love adventure. The novel seems to imply that planning and predicting the future is impossible, that life may deceive you and that death may mess with you.

Life at the end

Based on the idea of this novel, published by Masciliana Editions, it seemed vital to ask the Saudi novelist whether her choice of the angel of death as the narrator suggests that out of death comes life and vice versa. She replied:

"Indeed, the novel ended with the birth of a child, or, as I said in the novel, 'the grandson who constitutes the grandfather's rebirth, and a sufficient vengeance from old age.' The child here is a testament to the continuity of life in the face of annihilation.

"And the whole story proceeds in this direction, even if its narrator is the angel of death. He assures us all the time that he witnessed our arrival and will witness our departure, and insists that a human being feels his slightness, and that he can touch everything we love. However, he also holds some hands to guide them in the direction of life, seize the opportunities and not waste time.

"Every time he appears, it's like warning us that life is short, but it's good when we know how to set it right. That's what I wanted to say."

Abdul Hamid also confirms that she didn't hesitate for a moment in writing the short-listed book.

The novel combines elements of reality and fiction, granting the author the freedom of expression and movement between the events of the novel. She explains:

"Imagination is wild and difficult to contain, and reality is a wish that tends to logic! There is no room for comparison. But every novel has its facts and the tools that drive it. Fantasy may harm a novel. The novel only wants the way to be open so that it may be written in a way that doesn't lose its attractiveness and plot, and be told as was intended."

The short story as a tall tree

Before Fatima Abdul Hamid published her three novels, "The Edge of Silver" (2013),  "F for Female" (2016) and "The Farthest Horizon" (2022), her first publication was a collection of short stories entitled "Like a Paper Plane" in 2010.

Looking back at her debut, she says: "I once said that a short story is a giant tree. Even when you think you're developing as a writer of a novel, one day you and all your subsequent books will stand next to it, just as an old man and his grandchildren stand by a perennial tree, and everything will seem insignificant in its vicinity no matter how it grows."

"I still see the case as such, and I still write and publish short stories, scattered in magazines, newspapers, and social media sites, but I have not yet collected my new stories in one collection, and maybe will soon."

Writer's block

Fatima Abdul Hamid talks about the situations a writer goes through when struck by the desire to write, but at the same time finds it difficult or maybe not satisfied with the result:

"I'm living in this situation now and I've been through it before, but perhaps it's harder for me now.

"What I do is that I write... I write scenes that don't necessarily fit into a short story or a novel. I write a scene with its dialogues, and this could happen to me this today, for example! I think it's a kind of daily exercise to maintain writing skills, like walking for the body."

She adds: "I don't have any writing rituals, but I'm a very diurnal creature, and I like to follow the sun and write as its light fills the room and reflects on everything in it. As soon as it gets dark outside, my view of the story that was flowing during the day darkens.

"There remains one advantage for the night, that it can be used for making adjustments and corrections since it is a purely mental activity that does not require inspiration."

Peace, satisfaction and being a slow person

Fatima Abdul Hamid is at peace with herself, which is not surprising as she works as a psychotherapist and helps bring people into a state of contentment and peace:

"I like the word 'peace', and I like to be described with it. I believe that every person has an innate tendency toward peace, and that will not happen unless the person can look back without regret."

"That doesn't mean he didn't make mistakes. We're all sinners, but it does mean he's able to stop condemning himself, to reconcile with his old painful stories and overcome them, after having understood all their causes, since in reality, one does not usually have the opportunity to correct many mistakes."

"So, I see that the feeling of contentment is a deep sense of inner serenity, and that is the essence of spiritual beauty... A big leap towards trust in man and human nature."

Abdul Hamid also reveals what keeps her busy during this time:

 "I am in the process of identifying myself with the idea that I mentioned a while ago. I read about it because it's kind of historical, about extraordinary people, but they've built a familiarity in their surroundings.

"I want to write about them in such a way that my role as a mediator disappears. So I collect my sources and draw from them, which is not a waste of time as long as I spend it looking for a polished idea. I'm a slow person by nature, so I take things slowly and don't rush myself at all."