DC Public Library System

The innocence of the Devil, Nawal El Saadawi ; translated from the Arabic by Sherif Hetata ; with an introduction by Fedwa Malti-Douglas

eng

Includes bibliographical references

government publication of a state province territory dependency etc

no index present

fiction

The innocence of the Devil

bibliography

30518101

Nawal El Saadawi ; translated from the Arabic by Sherif Hetata ; with an introduction by Fedwa Malti-Douglas

Literature of the Middle East

Nawal El Saadawi's books are known for their powerful denunciation of patriarchy in its many forms: social, political, and religious. Set in an insane asylum, The Innocence of the Devil is a complex and chilling novel that recasts the relationships of God and Satan, of good and evil. Intertwining the lives of two young women as they discover their sexual and emotional powers, Saadawi weaves a dreamlike narrative that reveals how the patriarchal structures of Christianity and Islam are strikingly similar: physical violation of women is not simply a social or political phenomenon, it is a religious one as well. While more measured in tone than Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses, Saadawi's novel is similar in its linguistic, literary, and philosophical richness. Evoking a world of pain and survival that may be unfamiliar to many readers, it speaks in a universal voice that reaches across cultures and is the author's most potent weapon. -- Publisher description

Introduction: from theology to rape ---- 1. Ganat Arrives --- 2. The First Session --- 3. Another Woman --- 4. Narguiss --- 5. A Fight in the Night --- 6. Nefissa --- 7. Ganat in a Moment of Consciousness --- 8. Guilt --- 9. And in the Beginning was the Serpent --- 10. Sinful Love --- 11. Nefissa Stops Calling Out --- 12. Ganat Breaks Out --- 13. The Innocence of the Devil