Saudi Novel and Short Story: History, Realities and Prospects

Abstract

This paper focuses on Saudi fiction, novel and short story, which has enriched Saudi literature and contribut-ed in forming the course of modern Saudi literature. The study of this genre tells us the role of novel and short story in enlightening the people and forming their collective memory. Modern state of Saudi Arabia, earlier Najd and Hijaz, has a rich culture spanning three eras: pre-Islam, post-Islam and modern Saudi Arabia. How-ever, written novel and short story remained non-existent till 1940s when Saudi scholars interacted with Arab universities in Egypt and Lebanon and felt the need for giving a physical manifestation to the available oral fiction. In this study, the author traces the history of Saudi short story and novel through the different stages of their development. The primary focus of the paper is to identify the social and cultural barriers that men and women writers faced and overcame. Among many, the identified barriers are: (i) the social and cultural factors and (ii) the female inclusion. This study initiates a much-needed area of investigation on the develop-ment of modern Saudi novel and short story and motivates scholars and students of literature to familiarize themselves further with the history of Saudi fiction and the factors that contributed to its development be-cause an account of national writing without discussing these factors would be incomplete.