The genesis of the Moroccan novel in Arabic: a review of the origins of the modern fusion of mature domestic and imported literary forms

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe complexity, difference, and potential excitement of the current cultural scene in Morocco and its expression in fictional form highlights the Moroccan novel in Arabic khuṣūṣiyyah. These were remarks made by Roger Allen in a 2011 article entitled ‘Rewriting Literary History: The Case of Moroccan Fiction in Arabic.’ The widespread presence of the Moroccan novel in Arabic commands an analysis that underlines the growing argument that such a genre deserves further serious scholarly inquiry. This paper takes Allen as a point of departure and seeks an appreciation of the Moroccan novel in Arabic; it is meant to add to the repertoire of Arabic literature, contributing, one hopes, to a framework from which other scholars can expand any discussion of the development of modern Moroccan novel. Its main purpose is to emphasise that the Moroccan novel in Arabic is the result of a combination of two influences, the Western modern novel and the pre-modern historical and contextual attributes.