Novel
Sara
سارة
Abbas al-Aqqad · 1938
Synopsis
Hammam, a cultured writer, remembers the affair he began with Sara, a woman younger than he is, polyglot and enigmatic. They meet in public places, at the cinema, in galleries or libraries, according to Ireadhub. Little by little suspicion gnaws at him: is Sara faithful to him, or are his fears groundless? To be certain, he asks a friend, Amin, to watch her. The narrative is concerned less with events than with the inner movements of love, jealousy and wounded dignity.
Context
The novel appeared in 1938 and was reissued in 1943. It is, according to Al-Ittihad, the author's only novel, as he regarded the genre as secondary. He claimed to have written it to test his pen in narrative, Al-Bawaba reports, but also admitted that Sara had existed: Al-Ittihad identifies her as Alice Daghir, a writer and polyglot translator, daughter of Labiba Hashim, a pioneer of the women's press, whom he had met in 1924. Britannica likewise links the book to a liaison of the author.
Who it is for
A psychological novel in which analysis outweighs action, in literary Arabic; translated into English in 1978, no French translation found.
Prizes and reception
The only novel by a critic and poet of great stature, who himself presented it as a psychological study.
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