Jordan, which celebrates its Independence Day on Sunday, has built a rich literary canon in modern Arabic fiction. And that body of work has steadily grown and been celebrated for nearly 60 years.
These novels provide insight into a kingdom that has long navigated and embraced its cultural and geographic position. This has not only given rise to a distinctive arts scene and close-knit communities, but provided novels that reflected on identity and exile. Some of these works are introspective, others unfold as sweeping epics – but together they chart Jordan’s evolving voice in modern Arabic literature.
Here are five novels from Jordanian authors that feature in The National’s list of the most important Arabic novels of the 20th and 21st centuries.
1. You as of Today (1968) by Tayseer Sboul
Tayseer Sboul wrote You as of Today as a direct response to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The novel’s title is derived from a patriotic song. A mere 70 pages long, the book became a hit when it was published, as many in the region could relate to the heartbreak, disillusionment and rage that Sboul expresses. The novel features two narratives, one named Arabi ibn Arabi – or Arab son of an Arab – while the other interjects with his own insights and thoughts. As such, You as of Today was markedly experimental for its time and has come to be regarded as one of the foremost postmodern works in Arab fiction.
2. Sultana (1987) by Ghalib Halasa
Sultana is another novel that confronts norms and has thus stirred up its fair share of controversy. The novel is set in 1950s Jordan, in a period where the country was in the thick of political uncertainty following the assassination of King Abdullah I. The story is told by a man named Jeries as he recounts his youth in a village and his time at a boarding school in Amman. At the heart of his story is Sultana, a fiercely independent woman, and her daughter, Amira. The novel is a whirlwind of passion and politics, fearlessly delving into the shadowy world of extortion and smuggling.
3. Sons of the Castle (1989) by Ziad Qassim
In Sons of the Castle, Ziad Qassim presents the history of Amman from 1940 onwards, exploring its development as well as setbacks such as during the 1967 war. The novel is populated by a panoply of memorable characters with complex and layered relationships. As the book also deals with notions of Arab unity, Sons of the Castle offers a reflection of the wider Middle East during the 20th century, even if its focus remains resolutely on Amman.
4. Confessions of a Silencer (1992) by Munis Ar Razzaz
Propelled by fragmented dialogues, Confessions of a Silencer is as beautiful for its polyphony as for its contemplative turns of phrase. Isolation is a key theme in the novel as a man, woman and their daughter are under house arrest and feel a sense of exile even from one another. Their only tethers to the outside world are the phone calls they receive from their son. The story is evidently published by the experiences of Ar Razzaz’s own family. The writer’s father, Munif, was a prominent member of the Iraqi Baath party until the 1979 purge by Saddam Hussein, after which he was placed under house arrest until his death in 1984.
5. Notebooks of the Bookseller (2021) by Jalal Barjas
Winner of the 2021 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, Notebooks of the Bookseller is set in Jordan and Moscow between 1947 and 2019. It tells the story of Ibrahim, a bookseller and voracious reader, who loses his shop and finds himself homeless and having had schizophrenia diagnosed. He begins to assume the identity of the protagonists of the novels he loved and commits a series of crimes, including burglary, theft and murder. He then attempts suicide before meeting a woman who changes his perspective on life.
The novel is structured as a series of notebooks and has many narrators, whose fates sometimes collide. Notebooks of the Bookseller is a heart-rending, fragmented tale of people who are ignored and overlooked by society. Barjas's work daringly depicts a difficult reality not only in Jordan, but the Arab world as a whole.
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Chatham House Rule
A mark of Chatham House’s influence 100 years on since its founding, was Moscow’s formal declaration last month that it was an “undesirable
organisation”.
The depth of knowledge and academics that it drew on
following the Ukraine invasion had broadcast Mr Putin’s chicanery.
The institute is more used to accommodating world leaders,
with Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher among those helping it provide
authoritative commentary on world events.
Chatham House was formally founded as the Royal Institute of
International Affairs following the peace conferences of World War One. Its
founder, Lionel Curtis, wanted a more scientific examination of international affairs
with a transparent exchange of information and ideas.
That arena of debate and analysis was enhanced by the “Chatham
House Rule” states that the contents of any meeting can be discussed outside Chatham
House but no mention can be made identifying individuals who commented.
This has enabled some candid exchanges on difficult subjects
allowing a greater degree of free speech from high-ranking figures.
These meetings are highly valued, so much so that
ambassadors reported them in secret diplomatic cables that – when they were
revealed in the Wikileaks reporting – were thus found to have broken the rule. However,
most speeches are held on the record.
Its research and debate has offered fresh ideas to
policymakers enabling them to more coherently address troubling issues from climate
change to health and food security.
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
MATCH INFO
AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Cashew%0D%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202020%0D%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Ibtissam%20Ouassif%20and%20Ammar%20Afif%0D%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3EIndustry%3A%20FinTech%0D%3Cbr%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%2410m%0D%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Mashreq%2C%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE
1. Liverpool 101 points
2. Manchester City 80
3. Leicester 67
4. Chelsea 63
5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
8. Arsenal 56
9. Sheffield United 55
10. Everton 50
11. Burnley 49
12. Crystal Palace 49
13. Newcastle 46
14. Southampton 44
15. West Ham 39
16. Brighton 37
17. Watford 36
18. Bournemouth 36
19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
Understand What Black Is
The Last Poets
(Studio Rockers)
Company%20profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
