A Tunisian Tale: A Modern Arabic Novel (Modern Arabic Literature (Hardcover))

After ne'er-do-wells spread rumors about a widowed mother's weak moral character among the people of a slum on the outskirts of Tunis that festers with migrants who have come to the metropolis from the heartland in search of a better life, her twenty-year-old son takes matters into his own hands and commits an unspeakable crime. An imaginative and disturbing novel told from the alternating viewpoints of this unrepentant sociopath, as he sits and fumes on death row but willingly guides us through his juvenile exploits and twisted memories, and his murdered mother, who calmly gives an account of her interrupted life from beyond the grave, A Tunisian Tale introduces the narrative talents of Hassouna Mosbahi to an English-language audience for the first time, as he confronts both taboos of Tunisian society and the boundaries of conventional storytelling. An unconventional novel that explores the darker side of modern Tunisian societyAfter ne'er-do-wells spread rumors about a widowed mother's weak moral character among the people of a slum on the outskirts of Tunis that festers with migrants who have come to the metropolis from the heartland in search of a better life, her twenty-year-old son takebe matters into his own hands and commits an unspeakable crime. An imaginative and disturbing novel told from the alternating viewpoints of this unrepentant sociopath, as he sits and fumes on death row but willingly guides us through his juvenile exploits and twisted memories, and his murdered mother, who calmly gives an account of her interrupted life from beyond the grave.A Tunisian Tale introduces the narrative talents of Hassouna Mosbahi to an English-language audience for the first time, as he confronts both taboos of Tunisian society and the boundaries of conventional storytelling. The Son 8 The Mother 10 The Son 15 The Mother 19 The Son 23 The Mother 29 The Son 33 The Mother 36 The Son 40 The Mother 47 The Son 50 The Mother 54 The Son 57 The Mother 61 The Son 66 The Mother 81 The Son 85 The Mother 98 The Son 101 The Mother 105 The Son 112 The Mother 117 The Son 122 The Mother 127 The Son 132 The Mother 134 The Son 137 Glossary 148 Hassouna Mosbahi ; Translated By Max Weiss.