Wounds of memory

The novel / Wounds of Memory, by the author / Turki Alhamad, presents a deep human story embodying the radical transformation that Saudi Arabia experienced from a pre-oil society to the world of modernity and wealth. The novel tells the story of "Latifa" who is over fifty, as she recalls her family's journey that migrated from a poor Najdi village to Riyadh to enter the world of trade and business. Through her sessions with a psychologist, she reviews her personal and family memories that resemble wounds in memory, where the village disappears and is replaced by a changing city, and the characters live a struggle of identity and belonging. The novel offers an emotional narrative of the dramatic social and economic changes, as well as touching on the psychological and emotional cost of this rapid transition in people's lives.