Alienation in Bahaa Taher's sunset oasis

Abstract EN

The present study investigates how the theme of alienation is uniquely depicted in Bahaa Taher's Sunset Oasis (2009), winner of the first International Prize for Arabic fiction, or the Arabic Booker in 2008.

(“Arabic Booker”) In his seminal article “On the Meaning of Alienation” (1959), Melvin Seeman classified six alternative aspects or meanings of alienation: powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, self-estrangement, social isolation and cultural estrangement.

The aim of this paper is to apply this theoretical frame of reference to the novel under discussion.

A detailed discussion of Taher's novel shows that five (out of the six) variants of alienation manifest in his depiction of the two central characters; the Egyptian police officer, Mahmoud Abd el Zahir and his Irish wife, Catherine.

The former endures powerlessness, meaninglessness, self-estrangement and social isolation and the latter experiences social isolation and cultural estrangement.

Throughout the events of the novel the male protagonist and his wife are both presented as alienated individuals.

The study endeavours to provide a critical analysis of the theme of alienation, its manifestations, reasons and grave consequences