In Nour, we are told the story of a minor character (Noura) [who is] in a previous novel. Readers of Muhal and Guantanamo may remember Noura as the lover of Mohamed Ibrahim, the Sudanese protagonist who is wrongly jailed in the infamous prison of the novel’s title. We were told then that pregnant Noura loses the trace of Mohamed Ibrahim and decides to marry her detestable fiancé. In Nour, we follow Noura’s life over the years till Mohamed Ibrahim’s release from jail. After years of unemployment, and then only through a friend, Noura acquires a job as a secretary in a reputable construction consultancy firm. At nearly the same moment, the shabby apartments in which Noura and Tahia live suddenly acquire real-estate market value and their lives are transformed forever. Not only does material wealth befall them, but Noura also finds her intellectual bearings and suddenly unveils. Tahia, Noura, and Nour move into a middle class neighborhood as a big, happy three-generational family. Nour now attends a French language school and Tahia is her caregiver, while Noura concentrates on her work and studies. Her life blossoms, and her new joyful reality is complimented by a fulfilling romantic relationship. Yet, for fears of losing her independence, Noura stalls her marriage plans, which drives her devote lover to travel. But, as love is always a triangle in novels, Mohamed Ibrahim re-emerges. He approaches Nour, seeking to rectify his previous mistakes and reclaim Nour as his daughter. Noura refuses Mohamed Ibrahim’s plans, but she also declines her lover’s proposal to immigrate. Uncertainty envelopes her future, but the protagonist is ready to embrace the outcome of her decisions. Or is she? With Nour, Ziedan returns to one of his favorite topics: women’s oppression in our patriarchal society. This theme was the subject of his novel Fi Dhal al-Af‘ha (In the Shadow of the Cobra) in 2006. While the struggle (between good and evil) in his earlier novel is purely intellectual, here it is more inclusive. There is a maturity in the depiction of the causes that lead to the oppression of women, and thus socio-economic and political circumstances are all featured. Ziedan skillfully represents the pressures of the patriarchal society on the body of the (doubly) marginalized Noura. The young beautiful divorcee is subjected to sexual harassment and can only be protected if she conforms to societal norms. In exchange for societal protection, Noura is pressured into wearing the veil and loose clothing that hides her figure. For “this is a society that hates declared femininity,” as the author declares. The author also illustrates a despicable suitor reminiscent of Ghada Abdel Aal’s I Want to Get Married (2008). On the other hand, her lover is rendered as intelligent, handsome, rich, and caring, yet he is obviously not tempting enough to induce Noura out of her country. $c From arablit.org Noura is a young single mother in her late twenties who has recently divorced and returned to her late father’s apartment. She lives with her daughter – also called Noura or Nour for short – in a poor Alexandrian neighborhood. She survives on a modest income from embroidery and enjoys a close relationship with her elderly neighbor, Tahia. Noura is a cultured, well-read Master’s student of sociology, but her material circumstances change only through strokes of luck.

The fifth novel written by award-winning Egyptian author, Youssef Ziedan.