- Ghānim Dabbāgh (1923-, Iraq) – Ḍajjah fī al-Zuqāq (‘Din in the alley’, 1975). In this novel the main character Khalīl exposes cases of corruption in the petty bureaucracy in the provincial city of Mosel during the regime of Nūrī Saʿīd in the 1950s (reference). It includes many scenes of 1950s Iraq, such as the protests of 1957, and Khalīl’s personal life, such as his mistreatment of his mother and dealing with his own (political) uncertainties. The book consists of three parts. al-Dabbāgh started working on the first part in 1958 and it took him ten years to complete (reference) (also in G: Dysfunctional Governance: Corruption).
Refrences:
In order of appearance
- Roger Allen. 1992. “The Mature Arabic Novel Outside Egypt.” In Modern Arabic Literature. eds. Muhammad Mustafa Badawi. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 193-223, p. 207
- Shakīb Kaẓim. 2019. “Ḥayn Tasfaḥ al-ʿUmr.. Ghānim al-Dabbagh fī ʿAmalihi al-Riwāʾī al-Waḥīd Ḍajjah fī al-Zuqāq’.” www.almadapaper.net, 5 May 2019 https://almadapaper.net/view.php?cat=218331 (last accessed 26 October 2021)