Awrah Fi al-Jiwarعورة في الجوار

With a captivating narrative, shocking language, and scathing criticism, Amir Taj Al-Sir tells his story-filled tale from the Sudanese countryside, revealing the social features and customs that shape it: gossip spread by the League of Lies – the women of the town entrusted with arranging marriages – to nicknames and scandals, recklessness and sexual repression, the glorification of officials, the temperaments of politicians, the extremes of wealth and poverty, daily conflicts, envy and violation of privacy, anger, resentment, rudeness, and internal strife represented by two tribes that fought for a long time over a feddan. “Kalb al-Hur,” the truck driver between the town and the city who has dreamed since childhood of being a naked woman!, Shakher Suwar, the town’s beggar and the secluded charlatan who reveals the hidden and unravels magic, Shuaib al-Takruri, the magic seller looking for a clown, and Daoud Aqra, the town’s jurist who holds the theory: It is forbidden to strike a dead man... These and others, social, political and religious figures... inspired by the heart of Sudanese reality, the writer penetrates their depths, exposing their truths and removing their masks. In his novel brimming with dark humor, the author recounts historical events such as military campaigns and wars against the British colonizers during the time of the Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abdullah ibn Fahl, leader of the Mahdist Revolution, and the famine of 1888. He observes the country's transition to modernization and openness through the cultural influences from abroad that reach the countryside from the cities, such as trendy musical groups, the liberation of young women, hippie fashion and hairstyles, as well as changes in transportation, popular perfumes, and songs.