“A tragedy narrated, pursued chapter after chapter, and its threads woven with great ability, talent and ingenuity by the Lebanese novelist Jabbour Douaihy, in his magnificent novel ‘Chased away’, one of the six shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, 2012.”

This being said, I have a lot of affection towards Beirut, to which we came from our villages at the beginning of the seventies, feeling that we could change the world. This is a beautiful illusion, and I have not regrets.

The news below was taken from the IPAF’s website. Our favorite literature blogger is attending the conference in Cairo and should get back later today with some further insight!

Douaihy’s Chased away was awarded the Hanna Wakim prize for his book ‘Chased away’ | Charid al manazel, published by Dar annahar in 2010. The novel was selected by students of 9 high schools, among 5 Lebanese novels.

Since 2008, the International Prize for Arabic fiction, also known as the Arab Man Booker Prize, has been a reference in the literary scene. The long list for the 2012 prize was announced yesterday, and Jabbour Douaihy’s Chased away is in it!

Douaihy is the only writer who avoided the trap of compliance, choosing a party over the other, in his narration of the Lebanese war. He does not express any ideological bias through one of his characters. He does not rely on critique to cleanse his own past, or take up a general humanist stand. Such is the case of many works, the authors of which fall in the abyss of interpretation and theory, or attempt to incriminate some of the factions over the others. Douaihy is also the only one to have explored the question of sectarian “differences”, in order to weave an impressive literary ground on its basis