- Tawfīq Fayyāḍ (1939-, Palestine) – Majmūʿat 778 (‘788 Group’, 1974). In this novel a Fidāʾī group in Acre plans several actions driven by the 1967 defeat (see 1967 al-Naksah) and their contacts in the West Bank. However, their attempts end in failure because of poor information and supplies, which leads them to accuse the leaders of the West Bank of a lack of commitment and organization (reference).
- Saḥar Khalīfah (1941-, Palestine) – al-Ṣubbār (1976, English trans. Wild Thorns, 1984), describes how Israeli violence leads to a violent answer and the way victims gradually become victimizers, particularly towards their own women and children (reference). Usāmah has just returned to the West Bank from the Gulf when he is commissioned by the resistance to blow up the buses that carry Palestinian workers into Israel which includes, he is horrified to learn, his family, friends and childhood colleagues (reference) (also in I: Israel and Palestine: West Bank and Gaza).
- Ḥamīdah Naʿnʿa (1946-, Syria) – Al-Waṭan fī al-ʿAynayn (1979, English trans. The Homeland, 1997). This novel centers the Palestinian fidāʾīyah Nādiyyah, whose resistance activities range from writing poetry to hijacking planes (reference). When Black September happens (see 1970 Black September in Jordan), she moves to Beirut, where her views start to clash with those of her comrades leading her to eventually leave for France with her husband Khālid, who she soon divorces before returning to Beirut (reference). The novel portrays Nādiyyah as a strong female character, protesting both societal constraints and political oppression, while also reflecting on her thoughts and emotional world, such as the effect her abortion had on her (also in F: Children and Family Life: Children and Adolescents: Bildungsroman: Female Arabic Bildungsroman).
- Laylā ʿUsayrān (1934 – 2007, Lebanon) – ʿAṣāfīr al-Fajr (‘Dawn Birds’, 1968). ʿAṣāfīr al-Fajr describes Salmān, a young man whose family lives in Beirut and who has been studying in Germany, who chooses to join a Fidāʾī cell in Jerusalem. When he is wounded, he requests to return to his family. His sister who is delighted by his decision to abandon his studies in Europe, becomes further confirmed in her decision not to marry ʿIṣām, who himself refuses to join the struggle (reference).
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. 202
- Samar Attar. 2016. “Chapter 9: Grieving over Home. A Mother or a Grave? The Vision of Homeland in Modern Arabic Literature” in Representations and Visions of Homeland in Modern Arabic Literature, eds. Sebastian Günter and Stephan Milich. Georg Olms Verlag: Hildesheim, Zürich, New York. pp. 155-183, p. 164
- Roger Allen. 1992. “The Mature Arabic Novel Outside Egypt.” In Modern Arabic Literature. eds. Muhammad Mustafa Badawi. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 193-223, p. 202
- Rāʾid al-Ḥawārī. 2014. “Al-Maraʾah bi-Kul Tajliyātiha fī ‘al-Waṭan fī al-ʿAynayn’ li-Ḥamīdah Naʿnāʿ.” www.pulpit.alwatanvoice.com, 28 February, 2014, https://pulpit.alwatanvoice.com/articles/2014/02/28/321960.html (last accessed 12 May 2023)
- Muhannad Ṭalāl al-Akhras. 2022. “Al-Waṭan fī al-ʿAynayn, Ḥamīdah Naʿnʿa.” www.ahewar.org, 22 January 2022, https://www.ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp?aid=744597 (last accessed 12 May 2023)
- Roger Allen. 1992. “The Mature Arabic Novel Outside Egypt.” In Modern Arabic Literature. eds. Muhammad Mustafa Badawi. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 193-223, p. 203