Cities of Salt
E1033789
Cities of Salt is a landmark Arabic novel by Abdelrahman Munif that powerfully depicts the social and environmental upheavals caused by the discovery of oil in a traditional desert society.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Arabic novel
ⓘ
novel ⓘ political novel ⓘ social novel ⓘ |
| author | Abdelrahman Munif NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| bannedIn | Saudi Arabia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | Saudi Arabia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| criticalReception |
praised for epic scope
ⓘ
praised for political insight ⓘ widely regarded as a landmark of Arabic fiction ⓘ |
| depicts |
arrival of American oil companies
ⓘ
displacement of oasis inhabitants ⓘ emergence of new social classes ⓘ transformation of landscape by oil industry ⓘ |
| englishTranslator | Peter Theroux NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| firstPublicationYear | 1984 ⓘ |
| genre |
historical fiction
ⓘ
political fiction ⓘ postcolonial literature ⓘ social realism ⓘ |
| hasSequel |
The Desert of Darkness
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
The Trench NERFINISHED ⓘ The Uprooted NERFINISHED ⓘ Variations on Night and Day NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| literaryMovement | modern Arabic literature ⓘ |
| mainTheme |
Western imperialism
ⓘ
authoritarian power structures ⓘ clash between tradition and modernity ⓘ cultural displacement ⓘ environmental degradation ⓘ impact of oil discovery on traditional desert society ⓘ social upheaval ⓘ |
| narrativePerspective | third-person narration ⓘ |
| narrativeStyle | multi-character ensemble ⓘ |
| notableFor |
critical portrayal of oil companies
ⓘ
critique of Gulf rentier states ⓘ depiction of Bedouin communities ⓘ |
| originalLanguage | Arabic ⓘ |
| partOfSeries | Cities of Salt quintet NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| publisherOfEnglishEdition | Vintage Books NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| reasonForBan | critical depiction of Saudi ruling structures ⓘ |
| seriesNumber | 1 ⓘ |
| setIn |
Arabian Peninsula
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
fictional oasis of Wadi al-Uyoun ⓘ |
| setInPeriod | early 20th century ⓘ |
| titleMetaphor | fragility of oil-based desert cities ⓘ |
| translatedInto | English NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.