al-Diglah fī ‘arāǧīnihā: palme e libertà nel sud della Tunisia
(al-Diglah fī ‘arāǧīnihā: palm trees and freedom in southern Tunisia)
in La rivista di Arablit, a. XI, n. 21-22, giugno-dicembre 2021, pp. 101-113.
al-Diglah1 fī ‘arāǧīnihā (Dates in its Branches, 1969), by al-Bašīr Ḫurayyif (1917-1983), set in the south-western region of Tunisia, spans over two decades, till around 1930. All the novel’s characters, living in a backward social environment, have to fight hard to get their own spaces of freedom. Makkī and al-‘Aṭrā’, the protagonists, after spending a quiet childhood in their oasis, are separated, then marry each other but only for a short time, to end up defeated by a cruel destiny. The former, after the failure of miners’ struggle against colonizers, goes back to his village and dies there. The latter, after suffering long-time unjust decisions taken by her uncle, spends an unforgettable night of freedom, before passing away. Dialogues in the local dialect (dāriǧah), throughout the novel, help create a sort of mimetic realism. Detailed descriptions of spaces, objects and social dynamics aim at a passionate reworking of a by-gone world.
