Egyptian novelist Reem Bassiouney on the timeless appeal of Arabic historical fiction

Genre provides nuanced understanding of today's world, author tells audience at Frankfurt International Book Fair

Reem Bassiouney, who won the 2024 Sheikh Zayed Book Award in Abu Dhabi, was speaking on a panel at the Frankfurt International Book Fair. Victor Besa / The National

Arabic historical fiction still has much to say about the modern world, according to writer Reem Bassiouney.

Speaking on a panel devoted to the subject at Frankfurt International Book Fair on Sunday, the Egyptian novelist and winner of the literature category at the Sheikh Zayed Book Awards said a new generation of Arabic readers is being drawn to the genre, which dates back to the 20th century.

“I have been seeing this at regional book fairs, particularly over the last eight to 10 years,” Bassiouney said. “From my personal perspective as an author and academic, I feel it stems from a desire to understand more about Arabic identity and related issues. Arabic historical fiction is seen as an accessible way to do that.”

Her award-winning novel, available in English as The Halva-Maker: The Trilogy of the Fatimids, consists of three loosely connected stories set during Egypt’s Fatimid Dynasty, featuring real-life heroes from Egyptian history. Told in three distinct parts, the novel vividly portrays the political intrigues and social upheavals of the time, while fusing the narrative with meditations and recipes, passed down through generations of sweet makers. These include treats such as Qatayef, a stuffed pancake typically filled with sweet cheese and syrup, and Aroosat Al Mawlid, a colourful sweet resembling a bride.

Bassiouney, who is also a linguistics professor at The American University in Cairo, said her research into the Fatimid Dynasty revealed some of the formidable characteristics of women from that era.

“They are strong sometimes in ways that perhaps are difficult for an outsider to understand, but that doesn’t mean they are less strong because strength means perseverance,” she explained. “Strength means patience. Strength means the ability to put up with challenging situations every single day.”

Stefan Weidner, a German translator of collections by Syrian and Palestinian poets Adonis and Mahmoud Darwish, believes it is no coincidence many contemporary Arabic novels, whether historical fiction or other genres, are keenly informed by the region’s past.

“One of the great things about Arabic, and also contemporary Arabic, is that it has the same grammar and often the same words as medieval Arabic,” he said. “If I were a writer in Germany and wanted to study the medieval period, I would need to learn Latin or medieval German, which are completely different languages.

“With Arabic, I can immediately read medieval Arab texts. So it must feel much closer for Arab writers to study those sources and write about them than it would for us in Europe.”

Bassiouney agrees, describing her experiences reading medieval Arabic chronicles as providing a detailed understanding of the role women played during that period of history. That knowledge helped mould some of the dynamic characters in The Halva-Maker: The Trilogy of the Fatimids.

“We do need to read more history and recognise that there were women who played very strong roles, even in political fields, not just in social ones,” she said. “If we look at the quantity of sources and read between the lines – whether it's poetry, personal letters, or medieval documents like wedding contracts – we can see that women actually had many rights and played very important roles at that time.”

To render the nuances of that era to a general readership, Bassiouney opted to use standard Arabic prose in her historical novels, avoiding the dialects of that time.

“In my own experience, I usually use clear and easy standard Arabic for narration because I believe if you're writing something overly complicated, you're not helping anyone,” she said. “You might be showing that you master the language, but it won't make the reading enjoyable. Another reason for the standard Arabic in my historical novels is that we really don't know exactly how people spoke back then. Their Egyptian Arabic was certainly different because language evolves.”

While authors and publishers may seek to capitalise on the trend, Bassiouney says Arabic historical fiction novels can be relevant if the themes are universal.

“Writing about human experiences, rather than just men's or women's experiences, is more meaningful,” she added. “There was a time in Arabic literature when women wrote about themselves in a way that often diminished their own roles and I think we have already moved beyond that.

“It's time for us to write about broader human experiences and the challenges we all face, as these are issues we share collectively.”