BLEAK PORTRAIT OF THE REVOLUTION: CALĀ’ AL-ASWĀNĪ’S JUMHŪRĪYA KA’AN

• Authors: Bešková Katarína
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article deals with the latest novel of the contemporary Egyptian writer cAlā’ al-Aswānī, who is called Jumhūrīya Ka’an (2018) (The So-Called Republic,). The novel depicts how the lives of various characters from different socioeconomic and religious backgrounds were shaped by the outbreak of the Egyptian revolution of 2011, with special emphasis on the darker side of the Egyptian struggle for democracy. In his novel, the author speculates about the reasons for the failure of the revolution and tries to identify the main culprits. The article aims to provide a thorough analysis of al-Aswānī’s novel with the main focus on how his portrayal of the revolutionary events and the fates of individual characters reflect his own disillusionment with the outcome of the revolution and his shift from sceptical optimism to pessimism.

Keywords

EN

AL-ASWĀNĪ; EGYPTIAN LITERATURE; EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION

• Publisher: Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Asian and African Studies
• Year: 2020
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 166 – 191

Contributors

author

Bešková Katarína

• Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovak Republic