The Couscous Western: Linked novelettes and critical thesis on literary idiosyncrasy

Bensalah, Fayssal 2023. The Couscous Western: Linked novelettes and critical thesis on literary idiosyncrasy. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

‘THE COUSCOUS WESTERN: Linked Novelettes and Critical Thesis on Literary Idiosyncrasy’ is a creative and critical writing PhD that encompasses two components—a collection of novelettes and a critical thesis. The creative component is entitled The Couscous Western. It contains five novelettes and one novella, all of which are connected, all of which display the applicability of particular methods of literary hybridity. The stories are linked by particular characters and places. The novelettes are ‘Your Son Is with Pollen and Dust,’ ‘The Last Shot of Ahmed Bey’s Cannon,’ ‘The Couscous Western,’ ‘Muslims Can’t Live Like Beats,’ and ‘Colonels Don’t Confess.’ The Novella is called The Seven Dates of Omar Sharif. The six creative works feature a diversity of characters and endorse many motifs, places and even genres. Some elements of the six creative works are socially and magically real, others fantastical. They star Algerian and non-Algerian characters, some based in Algeria, others stranded in the UK. The stories address themes of Islamophobia, religion, morality, nostalgia and unhomeliness. As for the critical component, it consists of four chapters that investigate a variety of topics. The opening chapter pertains to the exclusion of anglophone North African literature from African literature, referring to the history of this separation, its architects and its current sponsors. I also make a case for its gainful inclusion in African literature. I introduce, enumerate, explain and exemplify my own seven methods of literary hybridity in the second chapter. Four of them are linguistic, originating from a defamiliarisation of English. The three others are formal ones that spring from neo-adaptations of Arabic story-telling traditions. In Chapter Three, to manifest further the originality of my hybrid text, I study the conventional methods of hybridity exercised in four fiction works written by two anglophone North African writers: Hisham Matar and Laila Lalami. The fourth chapter concludes the thesis by not only disclosing the limitations encountered while implementing my literary hybridity methods in the creative component, but also discussing the implications of defamiliarisation.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General)
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 December 2023
Last Modified:	07 Dec 2023 12:18
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/164583

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