Historieskriveren Elias Khoury

Kerstin Eksell: “Elias Khoury the Storywriter”The novel, Ka´annahā nāʾima, As If She Was Sleeping from 2007, is set in Beirut and Nazareth between 1923 and 1948. The Lebanese Milia marries the Palestinian Mansour, and they settle down to daily life in Nazareth, where Milia finally gives birth to a son. Much of the story is told in the form of Milia’s dreams and recapitulates the family history in early 20th century Beirut.The novel is multilayered, mixing high and low registers, and rich in intertextual references. The Christian myth of death and sacrifice functions as a historical allegory of the political tragedy of the modern Arab world, in particular that of Palestine. However, the vitality and strength of Milia – Mary offers an alternative reading of human survival and resurrection, deeply rooted in the oriental potential of mysticism and poetry.