- Fadia Faqir (1956-, Jordan) – Pillars of Salt (1996). Maha and Umm Sad share a room in a mental hospital in Jordan from the 1920s to the 1940s, during and after the British Mandate (reference). Although their relationship is filled with tension when they first meet, the novel depicts the developments of the women learning to co-exist and eventually become intimate friends. The two tell each other their stories, which become windows into the outside world depicting not only their experiences, but also Jordan under colonial rule (reference) (also in D: Disabilities, Illness, and Disorders: Psychological Disorders: Psychiatric hospitals).
Refrences:
In order of appearance
- Nadia Sinno. 2011. “From Confinement to Creativity: Women’s Reconfiguration of the Prison and Mental Asylum in Salwa Bakr’s ‘The Golden Chariot’ and Fadia Faqir’s ‘Pillars of Salt’.” JAL 42:67-94, p. 67