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Literature 2017

Abbas Baydoun

Lebanon

Abbas Baydoun is a poet and novelist, born in Sur in Southern Lebanon in 1945 to a family passionate about literature. He studied Arabic Literature in Beirut Arabic University, and achieved his masters in Literature in Sorbonne, France.
He started as a poet and excelled in prose poetry. He has multiple poetic publications including: “Critique of pain”; “Overdose of time”; “Glass Graveyards”; “Chambers”; “B.B.B”; “A ticket for two”; and “The metaphysics of the fox”. As for his narrative style, it blends the volatile reality with a hint of fantasy. In 2002 he published his first novel entitled “Blood Scan”, followed by two narratives entitled “The Mirrors of Frankenstein” and “The Album of Loss” inspired by his biography. He followed those with a few more, including the winning novel of Sheikh Zayed Book Award this year.

About The Book

The novel deals with the conflict between a tyrannical father who terrorizes a certain village and his son, who looks for a life of love and enjoyment. The conflict between them escalates to the extent that the father succeeds in having his son killed. The novel utilizes excellent narrative techniques such as its shifting use of pronouns. Its symbolic structure is also distinguished, for the village stands for the majority of the Arab countries. The symbolic use of names in the novel contributes to its wealth. It embodies the conflict between those who stand for love and freedom and those who stand for tyranny and terror.

Published: 2016