In this period, the new government of Ḥusni al-Zāʿīm tightened state control of cultural institutions, thus censoring the activities of writers and other artists after a brief period of improvement and growth in civil society after Syrian independence from being a French protectorate (reference).
- Samar al-ʿAṭṭār (1945-, Syria) – Līnā Lawḥah Fatāh Damashqiyyah (1982 English trans. Lina: A Portrait of a Damascene Girl, 1994). Set in Syria between 1940 and 1961, this novel follows a girl growing into maturity in a middle-class Syrian family. After the death of the family’s father, it is Līnā’s older brother who dominates the household. But her older sister rebels, and Līnā herself joins a communist cell until she becomes unsatisfied with it and leaves Damascus. Aside from Līnā’s story, the novel describes the life and traditions of Syria in the 1950 as well as the suffocating atmosphere of the existing autocratic regime and repressive society (reference) (also in F: Family Life: Children and Adolescents: Bildungsroman: Female Arabic Bildungsroman).
Refrences:
In order of appearance
- Mohja Kahf. 2001. “The Silences of Contemporary Syrian Literature.” World Literature Today 75 (2): 224-236, p. 227
- Issa J. Boullata. 1995. “Lina: A Portrait of a Damascene Girl by Samar Attar.” World Literature Today 69(4): 863-864, p. 864