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'Heroes' and Characters in the Novels of Sun'allah Ibrahim

Starkey, Paul

Authors



Abstract

Tilka l-rā'ia, uncallāh Ibrāhm's short novel first published in 1966, has been widely regarded as a seminal work that heralded a major change of mood in modern Egyptian fiction. In the sequence of some six novels that have followed it, the author has developed a characteristic technique, involving the frequent use of intertextuality and the deliberate patterning of different narrative modes. The scale and complexity of the author's works have also increased dramatically since the publication of Tilka l-rā'ia. This article discusses some features of this sequence of novels, in most of which the author shows a continuing preference for first-person narration and whose protagonists (with the exception of the eponymous heroine of Warda) continue to embody many of the characteristics of the 'anti-hero'.

Citation

Starkey, P. (2006). 'Heroes' and Characters in the Novels of Sun'allah Ibrahim. Middle Eastern Literatures, 9(2), 147-157. https://doi.org/10.1080/14752620600814228

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 2006-08
Deposit Date Mar 27, 2008
Journal Middle Eastern Literatures
Print ISSN 1475-262X
Electronic ISSN 1475-2638
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 9
Issue 2
Pages 147-157
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/14752620600814228