Arabic-L:LIT:New Book on Palestinian Fiction

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Mon 01 Dec 2008
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1) Subject:New Book on Palestinian Fiction

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1)
Date: 01 Dec 2008
From:rgietz at harrassowitz.de
Subject:New Book on Palestinian Fiction

Mahmud Ghanayim
The Quest for a Lost Identity
Palestinian Fiction in Israel
Studies in Arabic Language and Literature 7
2008. XI, 164 pages, pb
ISBN 978-3-447-05768-4
EUR 38,- (D) / sFr  66,- / ca. US $ 50,00

Arabic fiction by Palestinian writers in Israel underwent a rebirth  
with the establishment
of the State in 1948 - an event affecting not only the land that had  
been Palestine, but
the entire region. In The Quest for a Lost Identity, Mahmud Ghanayim  
probes in
considerable detail this creative process over the last half-century.  
Adopting a strictly
literary treatment of the new situation, he reconstructs the various  
stages in the evolution
of Palestinian literature and its difficult existence under martial  
law. Perusing works by
such writers as Hanna Ibrahim, Atallah Mansur, Muhammad ۢAli Taha,  
Tawfıq Fayyad,
Muhammad Naffa', Naji Zahir, Riyad Baydas, and others he highlights  
the efficacity of
ideologically-driven literary criticism monitoring the direction and  
literary strategies
underlying the cultural revival generated by this national minority.  
The author of this
penetrating monograph deftly etches the new Palestinian self-image  
emerging from this
literary rebirth with its ardent ambition to create an esthetically- 
inspired rather
politically-monitored literature. Perhaps no Palestinian writer of  
calibre exemplified better
than Emile Habibi the aspiration to break away from the grip of local  
cultural conventions
to achieve artistic modernity. In effect, this doyen of Palestinian  
literature succeeded in
meeting the expectations of three highly demanding readerships  
comprising the
local Arab minority, the Jews, and the Arab world outside Israel.


***********************

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions. Do so
by emailing <rgietz at harrassowitz.de>.

For more information, please inspect our website:
www.harrassowitz-verlag.de

Orders can be placed with any international bookseller, with
<service at harrassowitz.de> (Harrassowitz Subscription agency), with
our online shop (www.harrassowitz-verlag.de), or with www.amazon.de

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End of Arabic-L:  01 Dec 2008