- Albert Cossery (1913 – 2008, Egypt) – Les Fainéants dans la vallée fertile (1948, English trans. Laziness Fertile Valley, 2013). Three brothers live a nearly motionless life with their father and uncle. Only the youngest family member, Serag, searches for a job, while the other family members neglect their health and resent any physical effort. The father ignores his hernia, whilst the youngest son’s paleness makes him resemble a corpse. Yet the father does not support Serag’s quest for work, warning him that this could get him into trouble with the government. The story can be read as a reflection on laziness, and on (the reception of) modernity in Egypt, in that it is not always progressive or moral, but can be at times anti-humanistic (reference).
- Réda Dalil (1984-, Morocco) – Le Job (‘The job’, 2014). This novel tells the story of a man struggling with unemployment in Morocco. Its hero is Ghali Habchi, who worked for a large Moroccan-based international bank until the banking crisis in the USA. The novel describes the difficulties Ghali goes through while going through job interviews, taking care of his friend Ali and his family, and slowly sinking further into economic duress.
- Rīnīh al-Ḥāyik (1959-, Lebanon) – Sannah al-Rādiyū (‘The year of the radio’, 2015). The main character of this novel is Yara, a young Lebanese speech therapist living with her parents in Beirut. Following a period of bad luck after her contract as a schoolteacher is not extended, Yara gets a job as a radio host with her own show. Her program is a live therapy in which she talks with children about their issues and advises them. Though she likes her job, her family life is stressful as her parents keep pushing her to get married like her sister did. Yet bad luck strikes again when the radio show is cancelled after only a year, and Yara is unemployed again (reference). The novel reflects on the stories of the children, but also the difficulties Yara faces in her career (also in F: Children and Family Life: Children and Adolescents).
Refrences:
In order of appearance
- Elisa Wouk Almino. 2013. “Albert Cossery’s ‘Laziness in the Fertile Valley’.” www.wordswithoutborders.org, 29 December 2013, https://wordswithoutborders.org/book-reviews/albert-cosserys-laziness-in-the-fertile-valley/ (last accessed 29 June 2022)
- Perween Richards. 2017. “Why Renee Hayek Should Win the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.” www.arablit.org, 21 August 2017, https://arablit.org/2017/08/21/why-renee-hayek-should-win-the-international-prize-for-arabic-fiction/ (last accessed 21 October 2019)