📚 Saudi Arabian writer Abdel Rahman Munif’s 1977 work, Endings, stands out among its contemporaries for the seemingly simple choice of its setting: the desert. Translated into English by Arabic Language and Literature professor Roger Allen, Munif’s novel follows al-Tiba, a nondescript village in an unspecified part of the Arab world, and its struggle with unrelenting droughts.

The village and its inhabitants come into focus through collective descriptions of their ways of living, their unique temperaments, their knack for storytelling, and the way they’re all curiously attached to al-Tiba. The village, however, is plagued by cruel droughts that at first seem occasional, but turn out to be a constant battle that the villagers endure as their supplies of food and water are slowly eroded.

The story reads like mythology. The narrative maintains an impersonal style with individuals given limited characterization, while animals and natural forces seem to hold symbolic meaning. One character who stands out with clearer outlines is ‘Assaf, a solitary hunter who is often ridiculed by the villagers, and his canine companion. The scarcity of resources leads some villagers to unite in a heedless hunting spree that quickly becomes a lesson for them on the importance of mindful resource use.

In the few comparisons between the modern city and the primitive al-Tiba — mainly from villagers who have made transitions into urban life and return for visits — their desert life seems defined by cynicism more and more. Yet the narrative reminds us again and again that this village is unlike any other, where nostalgia and sentimentality unabatingly take deep root in the villagers’ hearts.

Munif’s Endings unfolds as a slow-paced read, yet its simple premise sparks the imagination. The translation is clunky at times, with prose that sometimes feels repetitive or falls flat. Despite this, the narrative remains compelling and refreshing, exploring rarely explored subjects — most prominently the theme of encroaching modernity — and rendering the book a gem on ancient life in the Arabian peninsula.

WHERE TO GET IT- The paperback is available for purchase at Diwan.

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