“The greatest glory for me was that you were my father!” This was the beginning of this novel, printed twice and also released in Spanish. It carries the concerns of homeland and human issues through the story of a citizen's life, by the Saudi writer and journalist who expressed with the courage of a world and a soldier, and wrote with the bitterness of a lover for a homeland that harshly treats and even oppresses its children. Traditions, customs, and outdated concepts still dominate people's minds, occupying their hearts and defining the concepts of right and wrong. They impose on individuals their way of life, suppressing any different logic, thought, genuine feelings, and sensitive emotions. Furthermore, contemporary life has imposed its presence not through natural internal changes but superficially, failing to truly benefit life's developments. It has instead stripped the community of its authentic Arab ethics, replacing them with standards of consumption and benefit: “Favoritism struck us at the core, leading our social relations, making personal gain and exploitation the measure of success in our environment. Intermediaries and mutual benefits no longer cause surprise; instead, they start the easy alphabet of selfishness that has become a beautiful form of contemporary life.” The writer returns to the past of ancestors who lived “pain accompanied by the bitterness of illiteracy and ignorance. Their battles weren't only with harsh terrains and nature but included all rhythms and details of life. They fought the epidemic of illiteracy and backwardness, instilling in our hearts the meanings of nobility and honesty.” The narrator's story starts with his return to his family’s land upon learning of his father's illness. In “The First Wound,” he says, “I was banished from my land not by the absent law’s force at that time but by the force of domination and authority represented by the tribe's system entirely biased towards powerful individuals,” and “departure was the only choice before me despite its bitterness and harshness.” He embarks on a journey outside his own group, joining a caravan headed towards military enlistment, with its leader bidding him farewell, saying: “Let your tears flow, never hold them back. It’s untrue that men don’t cry. The most merciful, tender, noble, and brave men do cry.” In “Justice,” he narrates the shock of his brother’s murder and the tribe’s inability to prevent “such causes and pains before, and it was never anticipated to perform any good for humanity.” The criminal is caught and “will be tried before the judiciary,” but how will justice be served, and in what form? “Especially in an unstable, newly formed society unfamiliar with institutional building, organization, and law.” Events unfold, delving into societal truths and critique its false values, pointing out its issues and accusations of oppressing individuals, especially women. Will the narrator arrive in time to see his ailing father, or will the end leave him feeling more than ever “truly miserable,” and “outcast” and alone as he always was? A poignant novel searching for human humanity in a time lost in conflicting issues, between a past that lost its noble ethics but lives on its oppressive judgments and a present that has taken only the concept of consumption and personal benefit from civilization.

Publishing house: Arab Scientific Publishers/Lebanon

Number of Pages: 184

Year of publication: 2006