Rawan's Middle Eastern Fiction Reading Group

Welcome back lovers of Middle Eastern Fiction! This Reading Group will explore powerful and complex voices from the Middle East, both contemporary and classic, from a region that has an ancient, rich literary tradition. We will delve into novels that illuminate issues of identity, exile, resistance and belonging , told by authors whose work challenges and enriches our understanding of the Middle East and its people.

This month's pick is The Earthquake by Tahrir Wattar (Translated by William Granara), which offers a surrealist vision of post-colonial Algeria — a society in chaos, a world turned upside down. Written in the early 1970s, this classic work by pioneering novelist Tahir Wattar presciently foretells the dreadful events which would later besiege his country.

One afternoon, Sheikh Abdelmajid Boularwah embarks upon a journey in search of distant relatives. His immediate family are ruthless, rich and collaborate with colonial authorities. He hopes his long-lost relatives, who are unknown to the new Communist government, might be better placed to help him defraud it.

Through a labyrinth of back alleys and memories, Boularwah makes his way from Algiers across the seven bridges of Constantine, battling the forces of a rapidly changing society while confronting the demons of his own past.

Tahir Wattar is widely regarded as a pioneer of the modern Arabic novel. He depicts a grotesque society in profound turmoil after colonial entities have ravaged their lives. A rift has been created among a community that must reconcile their rapture at independence with their traditions and modern influences. 

He crossed the street and pressed his chest against a wall. He took a long, deep breath.

Finally, the smell of the earth. Thank God. Finally, I can smell the earth. The city is like a boat stranded in the middle of the ocean. At every stop it evokes feelings of loneliness and alienation, of being cut off from the rest of the world.