Abstract
Narrative writing is relatively a new phenomenon in Yemeni literary discourse and a sequel to the maturity of the common folk forms. The present study investigates both the rise of Yemeni novel and the representation of the major social and economic issues in early Yemeni novel between the 1970s-1980s. Since the 1970s, the novel genre has become one of the most relevant phenomena in Yemeni literary canon. Yemeni writers of this era were aware of the importance of introducing contemporary issues to the reader. In addition to this task, the novel has enriched the Yemeni cultural field and remained dynamic in national identity formation. This study has a special reference to Zayd Dammaj's The Hostage (1984) for it is the first Yemeni novel that has unflinching determination and frankness in representing injustices and miseries in the society. Though The Hostage is also a tender critique of influential families that were part of the oppressive regime, it succeeds in helping the nation compromise with the past. The conclusion of the study suggests that while criticizing certain families for the misery of the whole nation may challenge co-existence, this discourse is seen as a subtle manifestation of negotiating differences. Further, the conclusion of this study finds that investigating history and major issues in Yemeni novel will guide readers and critics to a much-needed area of study on the factors which led to the rise of the Yemeni novel.
Highlights
Narrative writing is relatively a new phenomenon in Yemeni literary discourse and a sequel to the maturity of the common folk forms
Novel genre plays a crucial role in recording social experiences and historic events; represented events presented in all literary forms, are not necessarily facts
Sufferance, and joy are presented as eternal truth in the novel genre which is, according to Watt (1957), “the truth to individual experience” and conveys “the impression of fidelity to human experience” (p. 13)
Summary
Novel genre plays a crucial role in recording social experiences and historic events; represented events presented in all literary forms, are not necessarily facts. The earliest novels in literary history like the Japanese novel Tale of Geni (1010) by Murasaki Shikibu, the English novel Le Morte d'Arthur (1485) by Thomas Malory or even the few surviving Greek novels like Apollonius of Tyre constitute a coherent account of human experience. They are still read in the twenty-first century because they have the same human experience conveyed with a wide range of historic truth and continue to influence the present. Meyer's terms “Arab nationalism" and "Arab unity": This is visible in the Arabic novels' engagement with modernity and tradition within the framework of the nation-state. The ambivalence towards the nation-state inherent in the Arabic novel, gestures towards other ways of managing aesthetic breakthrough, relationships with the past and present, and the role of Arabic literature in the future of Arab culture (Ouyang, 2013, p. 226)
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