An old saying notes that each era has its own people, customs, and traditions. However, does the novel 'Striking the Self' truly apply universally across times and places? In its form, the novel presents a mix of stories featuring warriors, citizens, journalists, and thousands oppressed by politics, economy, governance, and war. In the narrative, the story delves into the personal tale of Yaseen, a man ensnared by a fiery femininity after being crippled by an imbalanced war. This fiery woman is the extraordinary Rania, whose unwavering determination is fueled by pleasure... Her intense allure deliberately challenges masculinity, having learned from an early age that her body is her only asset to live by and for it. She exists in a dilapidated environment, marginalized by society, which rejected her innocence and instead cast her in the mold of her mother and aunts. Ultimately, "I didn't disappoint; I fulfilled what was desired. They all wanted me a deadly seductress, and so I was and remain..." In essence, the novel and its protagonist appear as a stark reflection of a specific society, which the storyteller chose not to describe in detail; some things explain themselves without need. Regardless, 'Striking the Self' and its narrator discuss a community grappling with extremism and hypocrisy, blurring fiction and reality. Isn’t literature about reshaping life with its unique standards and various techniques?

Publishing house: Arab Scientific Publishers/Lebanon
Number of Pages: 127
Year of publication: 2013