Last Updated: 29 May, 2023 | Views: 456
Age: 70
Profession: Writer
Other Profession(s): Politician, Journalist, NoveList, Economist, Memoirist
Famous For: Cities Of Salt, A Quintet Of Novels
Higher Education: University of Belgrade, University of Paris
About (Profile/Biography):
Abdul Rahman Munif is the Saudi Arabian novelist, short story writer, memoirist, journalist, thinker, and cultural critic. He was born on May 29, 1933, and passed away on January 24, 2004. He is considered one of the best Arabic writers of the 20th century by modern Saudi authors. Middle Eastern elite classes are mocked in his novels, as well as strong political elements. His most famous work is Cities of Salt, a quintet of novels about how oil transformed Bedouin culture. The Saudi rulers banned many of Munif's books and revoked his Saudi citizenship after his work offended them.
Abdul Rahman Munif Education:
Law Degree: Sorbonne University
Phd In Oil Economics: University of Belgrade's Faculty of Economics.
Abdul Rahman Munif Career:
• Abdul Rahman Munif wrote fifteen novels. The Cities of Salt quintet depicted how the oil boom transformed the Bedouin culture of the Arabian peninsula. A comparison can be drawn between the novels and William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, which depicts the history of a large area.
• Endings was his first novel published in English. In addition, the translator states that this was the first Saudi novel translated into English, describing the novel as an innovative portrayal of rural life and environmental challenges in a genre of Arabic literature that had previously primarily focused on the experiences of the urban middle class.
• The works of Abdul Rahman Munif have never been particularly popular in the West, but they are highly acclaimed throughout the Middle East. Said describes Cities of Salt as "the only serious fiction that shows how oil, Americans, and the local oligarchy affect the Gulf."
Abdul Rahman Munif Works In English
1987: Cities of Salt
1991: The Trench
1993: Variations on Night and Day
1998: Endings, London
1998: Story of a City: A Childhood in Amman, London
Abdul Rahman Munif Works In Arabic
1975: Sharq al-Mutawassit شرق المتوسّط, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
1991: Al-an… huna, aw sharq al-Mutawassit marra ukhra الآن... هنا، أو شرق المتوسّط مرّة أخرى, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
2005: Umm an-nudhur أمّ النذور, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Abdul Rahman Munif Unknown Facts:
The work of Munif had a profound impact on Arab literature and society. His novels sparked debates and discussions about the region's history, politics, and identity. As a result, a new generation of Arab writers explored similar themes and narratives.
Abdul Rahman Munif received numerous literary awards throughout his career. The Al Owais Award for the Arabic Short Story and the Owais Prize for the Arabic Novel were among the awards he received.
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