Bashir Khrayyef (Arabic: البشير خريٌف, romanized: al-Bashīr Khurayyif; April 10, 1917 – December 17, 1983) was a Tunisian writer, considered "the father of the realist novel in Tunisia."[1] He is known for his harshly realistic descriptions of Tunisian society as well as for his use of Tunisian Arabic in the dialogues of his novels.[2][3]
Early life and education
Khrayyef was born on April 10, 1917, in Nefta, government of Tozeur in southwest Tunisia. He came from a literary family; his brother was the poet Mustafa Khrayyef.[citation needed]
Writing career
Khrayyef's most famous historical novel, Barq al-layl ("Night Lightning," 1961) is set in Tunis during 16th-century Hafsid rule.[3] The novel treats the topics of slavery and racism through the love story of the protagonist, a black slave.[1]
Arguably his most influential novel, al-Digla fī ‘arājīnihā ("Dates in their Branches," 1969), is set in an oasis community in the southwest desert of Tunisia in the 1910s–1930s.[4] The remoteness of the community is emphasized through the use of a local dialect of Tunisian Arabic.[3] The book also articulates the relationship between the Tunisian labor movement and the later independence movement.[4]
His final novel, Ḥubbak darbānī ("Your Love is Maddening," 1980) recounts an impossible love between a man and a prostitute.[1]
Bibliography
Novels
(1961) Barq al-layl (برق الليل (Night lightning))
(1969) al-Digla fī ‘arājīnihā (الدڤلة في عراجينها (A date in its cluster))
(1980) Ḥubbak darbānī (حبك درباني (Your love is maddening)), written in 1958[1]
Short story collections
(1975) Mashmūm al-Full (مشموم الفل (Jasmine bouquet)), included the stories "Khalīfat al-ʼaqraʻ" خليفة الأقرع and "Maḥfaẓa al-samār" (محفظة السمار (The woven wallet)), previously published in the magazine al-Fikr in 1965 and 1970[5]
