Novel
التوأمان
Not translated into English
Abd al-Quddus al-Ansari · 1930
Synopsis
The Twins: Salim has two twin sons, Rachid and Farid. On leaving preparatory school, their paths part: Rachid enters a national school of the country, Farid chooses a foreign school. Dialogues between the teachers of the two institutions reveal what each wants to make of his pupils, and the narrative follows, from one brother to the other, how these two kinds of schooling shape their character and conduct, over the course of two diverging destinies.
Context
The novel was printed in Damascus, at the al-Taraqqi press, in 1930, the year 1349 of the Hijri calendar, and its first page presented it as the first novel of the Hejaz; Aramco World specifies that it was published at the author's expense. Critics regard it as the first Saudi novel. In his preface, the author says he wishes to show the harm done in the East by foreign institutes, without claiming to have achieved the art of the novel; Saudipedia notes its direct, moralising tone, and Mansour al-Hazmi ranks it among the six founding novels of the country. A monodrama based on the book was performed in 2011.
Who it is for
A short novel, of about a hundred pages according to Aramco World, in the tone of an apologue; no French or English translation has been found.
Prizes and reception
The Riyadh Review of Books also sees in it the founding work of Saudi literary criticism.
Sources for this page 3
The pages consulted to check this page.