The Semantics of Space and Author's Technique in Bahaa Taher’s Novel “Sunset Oasis”

Abstract

      “The desert is the space in which people find themselves”. The famous Egyptian writer Bahaa Taher begins his description of the desert with this phease in the novel “Sunset Oasis”. The main action of the novel takes place in the desert at the end of the XIXth century. The author describes the life of  Mahmoud Abd al-Zahir, a middle-aged civil servant. In the Oasis of Siwa. At the same time “Sunset Oasis” is also a dystopian novel in some ways.

The article discusses the structure of the artistic fabric of the work, the spatial ecology and the author’s narrative technique in terms of the influence of Western Literature _western classical dystopian fiction), post-colonial context and trauma theory. In the novel, the influence of the trip to the desert on the main character is clearly depicted, against the background of whose faiklures, the author describes the traumatized psyche of the character.

This journey and life in the oasis increases Mahmoud’s helplessness and eventually kills him (suicide). The narrative technique chosen by the author prepares the reader for the dramatic ending.

Bahaa Taher’s Novel “Sunset Oasis” was awarded the 2008 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) – Arabic Booker.

Taher’s lyrical prose, his keen eye for historical details makes a great impression on the reader.