Layla al‐Jihni’s fiction: conceits and deceits

Abstract

Layla al‐Jihni is one of several Saudi women novelists whose work has risen to prominence since the 1990s. She writes in a surrealistic, stream‐of‐consciousness style that features interior monologues and psychological introspection. Her work is published abroad, but on the basis of interviews I conducted with Saudi women, it is accessible in‐country. Although al‐Jihni is not an activist, and her works do not directly engage matters of policy, her reasons for writing are more than aesthetic and transcend the ‘art for art’s sake’ ethic. Discourse is a source of power and influence, and al‐Jihni’s fiction contributes to this discourse in ways calculated to broaden the scope of choice for women in Saudi Arabian society.

Keywords:

• Saudi Arabia
• women
• novelists
• discourse
• Layla al‐Jihni

Notes

*This paper is part of a larger project currently in progress. It is not intended as a piece of literary criticism, but is rather based on sociological analysis.

1. On this, see Nazīh Abu Niḍāl (2004).

2. These data were collated from al‐Wāṣil (2007, 7–8 pages from the end – the volume is not paginated). His list ends in 2005, so the works listed in the following footnotes that were published since 2006 are not included in his summary.

3. For these authors’ publications, see the References.

4. Recall that this was also Zaynab al‐Hifni’s view, as she explained to me in my conversations with her.