The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist
| Author | Emile Habibi |
|---|---|
| Translator | Trevor LeGassick and Salma Khadra Jayyusi |
| Language | Arabic |
| Genre | Satire |
| Media type | Book |
The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist (Arabic: الوقائع الغريبة في اختفاء سعيد أبي النحس المتشائل) is a 1974 satirical fiction book by Emile Habibi.[1] It addressed the issue of lack of creativity in Arabic literature at the time by being satirical. [2]
The name comes merging the Arabic words for pessimist (al-mutasha'im المتشائم) and optimist (al-mutafa'il المتفائل).[3]
Narrative
Habibi used a comic mode to mitigate the intensity of his world in Israel and to make the story easier for readers to understand which would have been difficult to through a normal historical narrative.[3] Habiby shows his resistance against the Israeli policies of oppression with Arabic literary expressions and traditions.[4]
Plot
The story begins with a fool named Saeed who is visited by people from outer space who tells of his life in Israel through a letter. He wishes to cooperate with the Israelis. However, he goes to prison multiple times and is assaulted by the guards.
Reception
The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist has caused the reaction of literary criticism by many scholars.[3] Nancy Coffin says the success of The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist "lies in its ability to straddle the expectations of both acceptable politics and good literature and, perhaps even more important, the fine lines between military response and political solution."[4]
References
- ↑ إميل حبيبي وصورة الباقين بأرضهم بعد النكبة (in Arabic).
- ↑ Boullata, Issa; Abdel-Malek, Kamal; Hallaq, Wael. "Tradition, Modernity, and Postmodernity in Arabic Literature".
- 1 2 3 Saloul, Ihab (2008). ""Performative Narrativity": Palestinian Identity and the Performance of Catastrophe". Cultural Analysis. 7.
- 1 2 Ouyang, Wen-Chin (2012). Poetics of Love in the Arabic Novel: Nation-State, Modernity and Tradition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 98.