From the district to the palace, from the dream of emancipation to the cruel reality of alienation A reading of Tarmī bi-Šarar by ‘Abduh Ḫāl

In Tarmī bi-šarar, ‘Abduh Ḫāl presents an allegorical story of the brutal and rapid transformation of the port city of Jeddah into a large, modern metropolis. The sumptuous palace incarnates this modernity, full of promise, that the Saudi novelist shows to be a trompe-l’œil hiding a cruel reality. Through the tragic destiny of three characters, the novel reveals the dark underbelly of modern society, that of a disturbing world with an inverted value system and toponymy.