Cities of salt, published by a saudi arabianjordanian author in 1984, is a very foreign novel to an american reader. Middle passage, and munifs cities of salt, where the chaotic dynamics. This book spans a decade, roughly corresponding to the rule of king saud khazael in the novel, from 1953, with. Munifs quintet cities of salt, clearly satirizes the rise of the house of saud and the creation and consolidation of the modern saudi state. Abdul rahman munif cities of salt pdf banned in saudia arabia, this is a blistering look at arab and american hypocrisy following the discovery of oil in a poor oasis community. An opponent of both the gulf wars, at the time of his death he was writing a book on iraq. Abdelrahman munif, author of cities of salt, on librarything.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. I left off, with the effects of the discovery of oil reserves in the region beginning to show their true colors. Banned in saudia arabia, this is a blistering look at arab and american hypocrisy following the discovery of oil in a poor oasis community. City of salt by abdelrahman munif banned in saudia arabia, this is a blistering look at arab and american hypocrisy following the discovery of oil in a poor oasis community. Cities of salt1st edition by abdelrahman munif, peter theroux, abd alrahman munif, abdul rahman munif, abd alrahman munif hardcover, 627 pages, published 1988 by random house isbn. A childhood in amman abd alrahman munif, samira kawar. Munif lived in egypt, yugoslavia, iraq, france, and in syria. It is the first of a quintet of books that tells the story of the discovery of huge oil reserves under a formerly idyllic oasis on the arabian peninsula, and how the stores of valuable oil. The main character of this novel is an arab person living in a prison. Abdelrahman munif npr coverage of abdelrahman munif. A novel vintage international vintage international ed by munif, abd alrahman isbn. The trench cities of salt trilogy, vol 2 peter theroux translator.
The impact of oil discovery in abdelrahman munifs cities of salt. It is the longest novel in modern arabic literature, which took more than six years to be written at 2,500 pages and was banned in several middle eastern countries, including saudi arabia. A study of munifs cities of salt and naipauls the middle passage. His novels included strong political elements as well as mockeries of the middle eastern elite classes. Born of a saudi father and an iraqi mother, he became an arab nationalistsecular and socialistafter the declaration of israels statehood in 1948. He later returned to iraq to work in the oil ministry and became a. The shock of the modern abd alrahman munif cities of salt his life munif is saudi but he was born in amman, jordan. By addressing two separate branding exercises for amman, jordan, we investigate the links between the citys image and the visual image of its brand. Abd alrahman munif, arab writer and economist born 1933, amman, transjordan now in jordandied jan.
The trench is the second book in a trilogy commencing with cities of salt. Tracing the economic history of the arabic world, munif picks up where vol. Irshad ibrahim kandakkeel find, read and cite all the research. The saudi arabian abdel rahman munif 19332004 one of the. In 1952 he moved to baghdad to study law and later moved to cairo. On september 10th we read endings al nehayat by abd alrahman munif.
Munif was born a saudi national and brought up in amman, jordan to saudi arabian parents, and his grandmother was an iraqi. Abdul rahman munif books list of books by author abdul. Start your 48hour free trial to unlock this cities of salt study guide and get. His work so offended the rulers of saudi arabia that many of his books were banned and his saudi. City of salt by abdelrahman munif the 2171st greatest. Specifically, it shows how the local arab communities are changed for the worse by the intrusion of western. His work so offended the rulers of saudi arabia that many of his books were banned and his saudi more about abdelrahman munif. Abdelrahman munif abdel rahman munif abd alrahman munif. The first book that i read was for adults, east of the mediterranean, by the renowned author abdul rahman munif. Cities of salt, the subject of long distance race is the arrival of the american empire of. The jordanianborn novelist and economist abdul rahman munif began his career as a writer comparatively late in life, an earlier career in the oil industry informing his fiction. Cities of salt cities of salt trilogy, vol 1, new york. A primer on saudi lit, abdulrahman munif to present. It was first published in lebanon in 1984 and was immediately recognized as a major work of arab literature.
The premature death of abd alrahman munif on 24 january 2004 brought to. Cities of salt, by abdul rahman munif, tells of the discovery of oil on the arabian peninsula and how it disrupted the land and the people, altered the sociopolitical climate of the country, and. His books included cities of salt, the trench, and variations on night and day. Discover book depositorys huge selection of abd al rahman munif books online. He received a law degree from the sorbonne and a phd in oil economics from the university of belgrades faculty of economics. Abdulrahman munif is a prolific writer whose large output displays a high degree of originality and a remarkable variety of theme and structure, although nearly all his novels have several features in common, in particular the authors passionate concern for the freedom of the individual visavis an oppressive totalitarian regime in fact, the only novel. A novel munifs novels are thinly disguised accounts of events in saudi arabia, commencing with the discovery of oil by the americans in the eastern provence, and its impact on the inhabitants. Significant quotes in abdelrahman munifs cities of salt with explanations.
Cities of salt is a novel by saudi novelist, abdul rahman munif, first published in beirut in 1984 and later translated into english by peter theroux. Abdelrahman munif cities of salt by noora alsayed on prezi. However, munif never makes this explicit, preferring to avoid the use of real place names, and although this can be ascribed to censorship. Cities of salt trilogy by abd alrahman munif, 9780679745334, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. His work so offended the rulers of saudi arabia that many of his books were banned and his saudi citizenship revoked. Abd alrahman munif get textbooks new textbooks used. Buy a cheap copy of cities of salt book by abdul rahman munif. It is set in an unnamed country presumably saudi arabia. Munifs magnum opus is the mudun almilh cities of salt. The trench cities of salt trilogy, vol 2, new york.
Abdul rahman munif has 35 books on goodreads with 821 ratings. Set in a village on the edge of a desert, endings provides an exquisite portrayal of. Because the novel is a quintetalmost 2500 pages spanning over seven decades, this paper looks at excerpts from the first volume that fit more. What established him as a wellknown author was his 1961 novel a house for mr. Munif never actually identifies the country where the events of the novel are taking place. The oil encounter in abdel munifs city of salt by abdelrahman muni f cities of salt book 1989. Abdelrahman munif was jordanianborn economist and prominent arabiclanguage novelist, who used modernist narrative techniques. Munif began his career as a writer of fiction relatively late in life. Cities of salt by abdelrahman munif, paperback barnes.
A compelling interweaving of stories, endings is striking not only for its setting and its unique style of narrative, but also for its vivid commentary on the emergence of the modern city and its urban middle class. He was born in jordan in 1933, to a saudi father and died of a heart attack january 24, 2004, in syria. Munif is one of the most talented arab novelists of. His bestknown work is the monumental quintet, cities of salt 198489, set in an unnamed arab state of the gulf.
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