Algerian-born writer and filmmaker Djebar, now living in France,
makes her American debut with a collection offering memorable
portraits of Arabic women in a time of change. Spanning the years
1958 to 1979, a period when Algeria fought a bitter war of
independence from France and experienced a socialist revolution,
Djebar's stories are intended to be "the voice of all the women
they've kept walled in" in Islamic societies. As Sarah, who had
been badly wounded while fighting, observes (in the title story):
"There is only one way to unblock everything - talk without
stopping about yesterday and today, talk among ourselves in all the
women's quarters, the traditional ones as well as those in housing
projects and look. Look outside the walls." And this Djebar does,
as she chronicles the changing role of Arabic and Algerian women
during those tumultuous years. When the promised equality of the
revolution is soon diluted by the return of old Islamic
proscriptions, the narrator of "Forbidden Gaze, Severed Head" says,
"What words had uncovered in times of war is now being concealed
underneath a thick coveting of taboo" - again, women, once the
"bombcarriers and sister-companions of the nationalist heroes,"
must hide behind veils and walls. Pieces like "Nostalgia of the
Horde," in which an old woman recounts her harsh treatment as a
12-year-old bride; "Ramadan," in which a young woman is upset at
the return of "interminable formulas of politeness"; and "There is
No Exile," in which a grieving woman who lost her children and
husband in the war is forced by her family to remarry - all reflect
the continuing, often stifling power of older women and family. As
much a critique as a picture of a society, Djebar's debut - plus
its informative afterword - is an elegant and evocative
introduction to a too little-known world. (Kirkus Reviews)
Translated for the first time into English, this collection of
short fiction by one of the leading writers of North Africa details
the plight of Algerian women and raises far-reaching issues that
speak to us all. Women of Algiers quickly sold out its first
printing of 15,000 in France and was hugely popular in Italy, but
the book was denounced in Algeria for its criticism of the
postcolonial socialist regime, which denied and subjugated women
even as it celebrated the liberation of men. It was the first work
to do so openly. These stylistically innovative, lyrical stories
address the cloistering of women, the implications of reticence,
and the significance of language and its connection to oppression
(Djebar calls official Arabic "an authoritarian language that is
simultaneously the language of men"). Mixing newly written pieces
with older ones, Djebar attempts "to bring the past into a dialogue
with the present". The stories raise issues surrounding this
passage from colonial to postcolonial culture - national
literature, cultural authenticity, and the impact of war on both
men and women. The book's title comes from a Delacroix painting
that depicts a unique glimpse of the harem, an emblem of the dual
violation of Algerian women, both colonial and gendered.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(1)
