Novel
نهم
Not translated into English
Chakib al-Jabiri · 1937
Synopsis
Ivan Kouzarov, a wealthy heir of Circassian origin, goes from Geneva to Berlin and from one city to another, handsome, idle, busy seducing. Each affair leaves him emptier than the last, and the pursuit he thought he was conducting outside himself gradually turns into an inquiry into himself. A letter from home tells him that his father is dying: he returns, inherits everything, and leaves again. Later, in Spain, he joins those fighting against Franco, and a woman finally asks him why he chases after women.
Context
The author was twenty-five and returning from Europe when this book appeared, his political career having closed to him. The construction, made of letters and flashbacks, was hardly practised in Arabic letters of the time, and it is this that critics note, along with the fact that the narrative leaves Syria to take place in Europe. The book appeared eight years before the first by Naguib Mahfouz. Its author wrote only three others, then fell silent; the Syrian ministry of culture gathered the four in 2007, and a prize has borne his name since 2010.
Who it is for
A novel in Arabic, built on letters and flashbacks. It is necessary to know that almost all of it takes place in Europe and that the central character is not Syrian.
Prizes and reception
It caused a scandal and gave its author an audience of young people. It is counted among the first Syrian books of its kind to achieve a finished composition.