Hamid Qabbal was born on Nov 27th, 1965 in Matmata , Fez, Morocco. He published his first novel "Head of Mule" in 2005. With the success of the novel, he was encouraged to publish two more novels "The Spirit of a City" 2008 and "The Road to Mogador" 2015.All his novels are dynamic in the sense that they champion the concerns of the poor and oppressed people, the underbelly of society, particularly women. According to Wawa Book Review 'On transitions, Agendas and Bad balls' Thoughts on Hamid Qabbal''s 'The Road to Mogador' I quote :"Hamid Qabbal has balls. In his third novel, he disowns allegiance to his balls and paints men as monsters and women as angels trampled by these monsters. ' It is true, but women mainly illiterate women have been suffering in silence for decades. Mr Qabbal thinks it is high time their voices should be heard and justice done. In his novels, All the women are fighting for change, but are forced back to their traditional roles as wives and housekeepers.
The central character in ''The Road to Mogador' is Warda, the daughter, who breaks away from the cultural and emotional heritage she is supposed to perpetuate. The death of the mother at the beginning of the novel marks the end of a style of life and a way of thinking and the beginning of a feminist multidimensional response to life. Of course Warda is constantly juxtaposed to her mother to stress the changes she has undergone and which she would like to effect on her surrounding. This is done through two techniques: flashback and the stream of consciousness.
Warda, the protagonist, has choices as a child and as a teenager. As as a child, she preferred the squalo of the dump to the beauty of the lake; the Arabian night stories to her grandma' s religious lessons , nature to school; and life outdoors to the warmth and security of the house. Warda like Don Quixote wanted to change everything but succeeded only in changing herself . Her youth dreams and aspirations couldn't do much to change a long-standing corrupt system . As a result, she had to bend to adjust to the status quo instead of bringing about the so-much-wished for changes. The symbolic dimension of names is also interesting . For example, 'Nora' , haja 'zahra', two flowers and 'Warda', a rose. Their acts and actions are as negligible and ephemeral as these delicate plants. Their thorns may sting few individuals , may cause an allergy ,but may not change a whole society. Warda, the symbol of the Jasmine revolution in many Arab countries , can go out in demonstrations and shout at protests, but may never bring about long-term changes. .
Hamid Qabbal was born on Nov 27th, 1965 in Matmata , Fez, Morocco. He published his first novel "Head of Mule" in 2005. With the success of the novel, he was encouraged to publish two more novels "The Spirit of a City" 2008 and "The Road to Mogador" 2015.All his novels are dynamic in the sense that they champion the concerns of the poor and oppressed people, the underbelly of society, particularly women. According to Wawa Book Review 'On transitions, Agendas and Bad balls' Thoughts on Hamid Qabbal''s 'The Road to Mogador' I quote :"Hamid Qabbal has balls. In his third novel, he disowns allegiance to his balls and paints men as monsters and women as angels trampled by these monsters. ' It is true, but women mainly illiterate women have been suffering in silence for decades. Mr Qabbal thinks it is high time their voices should be heard and justice done. In his novels, All the women are fighting for change, but are forced back to their traditional roles as wives and housekeepers.
ReplyDeleteThe central character in ''The Road to Mogador' is Warda, the daughter, who breaks away from the cultural and emotional heritage she is supposed to perpetuate. The death of the mother at the beginning of the novel marks the end of a style of life and a way of thinking and the beginning of a feminist multidimensional response to life. Of course Warda is constantly juxtaposed to her mother to stress the changes she has undergone and which she would like to effect on her surrounding. This is done through two techniques: flashback and the stream of consciousness.
Warda, the protagonist, has choices as a child and as a teenager. As as a child, she preferred the squalo of the dump to the beauty of the lake; the Arabian night stories to her grandma' s religious lessons , nature to school; and life outdoors to the warmth and security of the house. Warda like Don Quixote wanted to change everything but succeeded only in changing herself . Her youth dreams and aspirations couldn't do much to change a long-standing corrupt system . As a result, she had to bend to adjust to the status quo instead of bringing about the so-much-wished for changes. The symbolic dimension of names is also interesting . For example, 'Nora' , haja 'zahra', two flowers and 'Warda', a rose. Their acts and actions are as negligible and ephemeral as these delicate plants. Their thorns may sting few individuals , may cause an allergy ,but may not change a whole society. Warda, the symbol of the Jasmine revolution in many Arab countries , can go out in demonstrations and shout at protests, but may never bring about long-term changes.
.