The orphan of the age

This novel's events take place in one day, the day the hero turns sixty. The hero is Younes or "Yatim al-Dahr," which is the literary name he chose for himself when he began writing in his youth. He is a professor of French language, specialized in Flaubert, whom he describes as his "teacher" in writing. On the eve of his retirement, Younes separates from his wife and leaves the capital to settle in "Niapolis" on the seaside, seeking solitude and to spend the remaining years among the books he loves. On his sixtieth birthday, Younes embarks on a long journey into the past, recalling the key stations of his life: his childhood, during which he was fascinated by Sufis and ascetics living in the mountains and thickets, clothed only in coarse wool; his youth, when he began writing stories and tales influenced by his favorite authors, especially Flaubert. However, he decides not to publish what he writes because, in his opinion, writing in his country is "a futile effort." Younes also recounts the stormy love story he experienced with the girl who would later become his wife, and his crazy love in middle age for a beautiful student who was enamored with his lectures on Flaubert. In his long journey through time, Younes is not only interested in the chapters of his life but also in the lives of others, such as Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad, the Andalusian prince and poet who was exiled by the Almoravids to southern Morocco with his wife and daughters, dying in captivity from grief and oppression. There are also Hisham and Bashir, who return to their homeland after a long absence only to die of a heart attack due to the violent shock they experienced in front of the transformations that occurred in society and among the people. Through Younes, Hisham, Bashir, and other characters in the novel, we learn about the conditions of some Arab countries, such as Algeria after independence, Libya under Gaddafi’s regime, and Lebanon during the civil war. Many events in the novel reflect the situation in Tunisia during Ben Ali’s rule, which led to the January 14, 2011, earthquake. The novel also contains reflections on life, death, love, writing, as well as on the intellectual, power, fanaticism, and extremism in the contemporary Arab world.