The Manifestations of open space in the novels of Sinan Antoon

Abstract

This study deals with an important topic in the narrative representations of the place through the narrative text. This topic is the significance of the open space in the novels of the Iraqi writer Sinan Antoon who published two collections of poetry: ‘A Prism saturated with War’ and ‘One night for All Cities’; and four novels: ‘I’Jaam’, ‘Alone is a Pomegranate Tree’,’ Fahrs’ and ‘Ya Maryam’. The latter was nominated for the Arab Poker Prize and was among the final short list in 2012.

The research is divided into six sections; each section is dedicated for a selected type of open space such as: streets, pubs and bars, worship place, stadiums, university, and some other open places. The study opens with an introduction about the place in general and the open space in specific. The open space is an extension for the natural space with some changes made by man and his needs. This space has a special importance for the individual and his feelings because it forms a sort of belonging, sometimes man can express himself through the places he visits. It can be noticed that open spaces do not differ from closed one in terms of the symbolic value and their representations in the four novels. Despite the fact that these places are familiar and intimate to people, most of them are disappointing as they contain elements of loss and failure. On the other hand, these places can be seen in a positive way because of their nature such as being free and accessible spaces which attempt to look at the changes that took place in the society as well as the social relations and their interactions with place.