AbstractAgainst the backdrop of the recent resurfacing of the dystopian genre in the Arabic literary field, the Egyptian psychiatrist, essayist, and novelist Basma ‘Abd al-‘Azīz stands out for her political dystopias, which can be read as lucid projections of the ‘real malfunctioning’ of the Egyptian political system. In this essay, building on a close-reading analysis and on two interviews given to me by the author between 2018 and 2023, I dissect the novel al-Ṭabūr(2012, The Queue 2016) and its prequel Hunā badan (2017, Here Is a Body 2021). In particular, I will focus on the trope of the human body as a ‘transformative space’ in which the oppressive authority can exert its control, its persuasion, and its strength to the point of creating bodies that lack minds.
The human body in two Egyptian dystopias: al-̣Tabūr (2013, The Queue) and Hunā badan (2017, Here Is a Body) by Basma ‘Abd al-‘Azīz
Maria Elena Paniconi
2024-01-01
Abstract
AbstractAgainst the backdrop of the recent resurfacing of the dystopian genre in the Arabic literary field, the Egyptian psychiatrist, essayist, and novelist Basma ‘Abd al-‘Azīz stands out for her political dystopias, which can be read as lucid projections of the ‘real malfunctioning’ of the Egyptian political system. In this essay, building on a close-reading analysis and on two interviews given to me by the author between 2018 and 2023, I dissect the novel al-Ṭabūr(2012, The Queue 2016) and its prequel Hunā badan (2017, Here Is a Body 2021). In particular, I will focus on the trope of the human body as a ‘transformative space’ in which the oppressive authority can exert its control, its persuasion, and its strength to the point of creating bodies that lack minds.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
