I Live

I live
AuthorLaila Baalbaki
LanguageArabic
Publication date
1958
Publication placeLebanon

I Live (also translated as I Survive) (Arabic: أنا أحيا) is the first novel by the Lebanese writer Laila Baalbakki.[1][2] It was first published in 1958 and was chosen as number seventeen of the 105 best Arabic novels of the 20th century by the Arab Writers Union.[3][4][5][6] Its publication marked the beginning of a period in which many novels by Lebanese women appeared,[2] and it dealt with the lives of young Arab women finding new ways of living in defiance of traditional gender roles.[7] The novel was banned for immorality in Lebanon in the same year that it was published,[5] and together with Baalbekki's second novel A Spaceship of Tenderness to the Moon it led to the author going to court to defend herself against a charge of degrading public morals.[8]

Reception

Highlighting some of the common themes the work shares with that of other Lebanese women writers, Aghacy notes the importance of the café as a setting offering relative freedom to women, and a strong sense of anger and resentment against the figure of the father.[2]

I Live, with its powerful protest against patriarchy and demand for individual liberty, inspired Hanan al-Shaykh to write.[9][10][11]

I Live has been translated into French (Je vis! Seuil, 1958) and German (Ich lebe, Lenos 1994), but is not available in English.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "Layla Baalbaki 1938". sister-hood magazine. A Fuuse production by Deeyah Khan. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Aghacy, Samira (2001). "Lebanese Women's Fiction: Urban Identity and the Tyranny of the Past" (PDF). International Journal of Middle East Studies. 33 (4): 503–523. doi:10.1017/S0020743801004020. JSTOR 3594784. S2CID 162636749. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  3. ^ "أنا أحيا". جائزة كتارا للرواية العربية (in Arabic). Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  4. ^ Faylasof. "أنا أحيا". Faylasof. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Renaissance in Four Voices: Four Women Writers Celebrated in Beirut". arabic300rssing.com. RSSING. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  6. ^ a b Lynx-Qualey, M. "The Top 100 – and Five – Arabic Novels". mideastposts.com. Mideast Posts. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  7. ^ Tresilian, David (2008). A Brief Introduction to Modern Arabic Literature. London: Saqi. ISBN 978-0-86356-802-2. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  8. ^ Harakeh, Sarah (23 October 2017). "BANNED BOOKS IN LEBANON". freethoughtlebanon.net. Free Thought Lebanon. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Hanan al-Shaykh: My Travels Through Cultures, Languages and Writing". bl.uk. British Library. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  10. ^ Short, Ramsay. "Literary Rebel Hanan Al-Shaykh Thinks Virginity is Overrated". officialbespoke.co. Official Bespoke. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  11. ^ Jaggi, Maya (7 July 2001). "Conflicts unveiled". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2022.