Post-War Anglophone Lebanese Fiction: Home Matters in the Diaspora (Edinburgh Studies in Modern Arabic Literature)

This book examines the phenomenon of the post-civil war Anglophone Lebanese fictional narrative. The texts chosen for study have been produced in, and are substantially about, life in exile. They therefore deal not only with the brutal civil strife in Lebanon (1975-1990) but with one of its crucial and long-standing by-products: expatriation. Syrine Hout shows how these texts characterise a distinctly new literary and cultural trend and have founded an Anglophone Lebanese diasporic literature. The authors discussed in the book are Rabih Alameddine, Tony Hanania, Rawi Hage, Nada Awar Jarrar, Patricia Sarrafian Ward and Nathalie Abi-Ezzi. In her exploration of their writings Hout teases out the different meanings and reformulations of home, be it Lebanon as a nation, a house, a host country, an irretrievable pre-war childhood, a state of in-between dwelling, a portable state of mind, and/or a utopian ideal. La jaquette indique : This book examines the phenomenon of the post-civil war Anglophone Lebanese fictional narrative by exploring the permutations of 'homeness' - the different spaces (homeland, host country, geographical in-betweenness), mental states and ideals - and how all of these interact. It also demonstrates how a collection of stylistically diverse texts characterises a new cultural trend : the founding of a fully fledged variant of foreign-language Lebanese transnational literature in the diaspora. Most of the texts have been produced in, and are about, exile. They deal not only with the brutal civil strife in Lebanon (1975-1990) but with one of its crucial and long-standing by-products : expatriation. Syrine Hout teases out the different meanings and reformulations of home in these novels, be it Lebanon as a nation, a house, a host country, an irretrievable pre-war childhood, a state of in-between dwelling, a portable state of mind and / or a utopian ideal. Key features : stduies 11 texts, many of which have reaped international acclaim ; focuses on the novels of Nathalie Abi-Ezzi, Rabih Alameddine, Nada Awar Jarrar, Rawi Hage, Tony Hanania and Patricia Sarrafian Ward ; includes an extended bibliography to encourage further research ; locates Anglophone Lebanese fiction in larger theoretical discourses on memory, trauma, nationalism and militarisation ; intervenes in current debates on the meaning of national identity in a global context A nuanced understanding of literary imaginings of masculinity and femininity in the Arabic novel. While the 'woman question' in the Arabic novel has received considerable attention, the 'male question' has gone largely unnoticed. Gender studies in Arabic literature has become equated with women's writing, leaving aside the possibility of a radical rethinking of the Arabic literary canon and Arab cultural history. This book bucks that trend, offering a nuanced understanding of literary imaginings of masculinity and femininity in the context of the 'national' canon of Egypt. Foregrounding voices that have been marginalised, but also considering canonical works, it engages with new directions in the novel tradition and sheds new light on key debates including the project of nation-building in the modern period; the process of inclusion and exclusion in canon formation; the geopolitics of definitions of national or cultural identity in the global world; and the conceptual discourses on gender and nation. Key Features: *Interrogates the canon of modern Arabic literature * Sheds light on literary voices, both male and female, that have been marginalized in Egyptian national literary history *Contributes to current scholarship on gender and nation in postcolonial contexts *Intervenes in current debates on the meaning of national identity in a global context This study examines the phenomenon of the post-civil war Anglophone Lebanese fictional narrative by exploring the permutations of ‘homeness’ - the different spaces (homeland, host country, geographical in-betweenness), mental states and ideals - and how all of these interact. It also demonstrates how a collection of stylistically diverse texts characterise a new cultural trend: the founding of a fully fledged variant of foreign-language Lebanese transnational literature in the diaspora. The eleven texts, many of which have reaped international awards, are by Rabih Alameddine, Rawi Hage, Tony Hanania, Patricia Sarrafian Ward, Nathalie Abi-Ezzi, and Nada Awar Jarrar. These authors experienced segments of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) as children and adolescents, as well as uprootedness later on. In their fictions, they reflect on what it means to be Lebanese, both in the post-war period and in an increasingly globalised world. No single definition of home materialises; instead personal and national identities are questioned and an array of possibilities for feeling at home are presented, and are reformulated, as their characters move from childhood to adulthood, from peace to war, and in most instances, from Lebanon to elsewhere, and sometimes from elsewhere back to Lebanon in various scenarios A nuanced understanding of literary imaginings of masculinity and femininity in the Egytian novel. Gender studies in Arabic literature have become equated with women's writing, leaving aside the possibility of a radical rethinking of the Arabic literary canon and Arab cultural history. While the 'woman question' in the Arabic novel has received considerable attention, the 'male question' has gone largely unnoticed. Now, Hoda Elsadda bucks that trend. Foregrounding voices that have been marginalised alongside canonical works, she engages with new directions in the novel tradition A nuanced understanding of literary imaginings of masculinity and femininity in the Egyptian novel. Gender studies in Arabic literature have become equated with women's writing, leaving aside the possibility of a radical rethinking of the Arabic literary canon and Arab cultural history. While the'woman question'in the Arabic novel has received considerable attention, the'male question'has gone largely unnoticed. Now, Hoda Elsadda bucks that trend. Foregrounding voices that have been marginalised alongside canonical works, she engages with new directions in the novel tradition. Syrine Hout Shows How 11 Stylistically Diverse Texts Founded A Fully-fledged Variant Of Foreign-language Lebanese Transnational Literature In The Diaspora. The Novels Studied Were Written In And Are Substantially About, Life In Exile. They Deal With The Brutal Civil Strife In Lebanon (1975-1990) And Beyond To The War's Crucial And Long-standing By-product: Expatriation. Syrine Hout. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 217-239) And Index.