Construction of Marginalities and Narrative Imaginary in Mohamed Zafzaf’s Texts

Lhoussain Simour is associate professor of English and cultural studies at Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco, and senior research associate at the University of Gibraltar.

Lhoussain Simour brings a depth and breadth of knowledge about Moroccan fiction to his study of the works of Mohamed Zafzaf. Too often, Arabic language writing is passed over in English language scholarship on Morocco and this study demonstrates the vibrancy of writing in Arabic, especially the complex interplay of aesthetics and politics in fictional writing. The chapters of the book trace Zafzaf’s novelistic trajectory, and offer a thorough exploration of Moroccan literary history as well as its dynamic literary scenes, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. I learned a great deal from Simour’s study and recommend it.

• ForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: Postcolonial Malaise in Narration and the Construction of Narrative Imaginary 1.Reflections on Narrative Development and the Enactment of Gender in Ar?ifah wa Judran [Sidewalks and Walls] (1974) 2.Rural Peripheries in Aborted Dreams and unterminated Desires: Human Tragedy, Coercive Power, and Social Coercion in Qobur fi al-ma? [Graves in the Water] (1978) Part II: Narration through Episodes from the Margin: The Negotiation of Marginality and the Formation of Marginal Identities 3.Contested Terrains of Marginality Negotiated: Reinventing the Underground in Mu?awalat ‘Aysh [Attempt to Live] (1985)4.Textual Gates Reopened: Marginality across the Boundaries of Space, Class, and Gender in Bay?at Adik [The Rooster’s Egg] (1984)Part III: Random Strings of Encounter (Re)Imagined: Narrative Building and Characterization Remapped 5.Narrative Strings Unlaced: Character building through Narrative Encounters in Al-af‘a wa al-Ba?r [The Viper and the Sea] (1979)