Doaa al-Karawan (novel)

1934 novel by Taha Hussein

Doaa al-Karwan

Author| Taha Hussein
Country| Egypt
Language| Arabic

Publication date

| 1934

Doaa al-Karwan (Arabic: دعاء الكروان)(The Call of the Curlew) is a novel by Taha Hussein, an Egyptian writer, published in 1934.[1] Taha Hussein dedicated it to the writer Abbas Al-Akkad. The Lebanese poet Khalil Mutran was inspired to write a poem by the atmosphere of the novel. It was notable for containing the first use of flashback narrative in an Arabic-language novel.[2]

The novel was translated into French in 1949. The novel was made into a movie titled The Nightingale's Prayer in 1959, directed by Henri Barakat, with Taha Hussein participating in his own voice at the end of the film.[3] The novel was translated into English in 1980.[4][5]

## Theme[edit]

This novel describes the life experiences of Amna, a girl who witnessed the murder of her sister by her uncle for preserving the 'honor' of family. After finding out the real culprit of the murder -an engineer-, Amna tries to take revenge on him. She works in his home as a maid anonymously and tries to kill him multiple times but fails miserably. Later on she fell in love with the engineer. When her uncle found out that she is in a relationship with the engineer, he comes to kill her for the same reason. However, the engineer saves her life by killing her uncles.

## Review[edit]

Peter Bradshaw commented on the movie based on this novel: "This is an extravagant revenge melodrama, or Beauty-and-the-Beast fable, from the Egyptian film-maker Henry Barakat, based on a novel by Taha Hussein".[6]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Massad, Joseph A. (2008). Desiring Arabs. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 319\. ISBN 978-0226509600. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
2. ^ Bounfour, Abdallah; Langhade, J. (1991). Taha Hussein colloque de Bordeaux, 15, 16 et 17 décembre 1989. Bordeaux: Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux. p. 20\. ISBN 9782867811098. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
3. ^ Karaköse, Onur. "Egyptian Movie Analysis: Doa al Karawan (1959)".
4. ^ Limbrick, Peter (2020). Arab Modernism as World Cinema The Films of Moumen Smihi. Oakland, CA: University of California Press. p. 122\. ISBN 9780520330573. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
5. ^ Tomiche, N. (1980). "Tāhā HUSAIN, The Call of the Curlew, translated into english by A. B. as-Safi". Arabic Translation Series of the Journal of Arabic Literature. 5: 210–211. doi:10.1163/157005883X00382. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
6. ^ "20 best African films – ranked!". the Guardian. 1 October 2020.