Tawfiq Yusuf 'Awwad

Tawfiq Yusuf 'Awwad (; 28 November 1911 – 16 April 1989) was a Lebanese writer and diplomat. His 1939 novel , inspired by Arab resistance to the Turks in World War I, "was quickly recognized as a landmark in the literary expression of Arab nationalism". His only other novel, Death In Beirut, was similarly well-regarded. 'Awwad also wrote poetry, essays, and plays. He was killed in a bombing in 1989 during the Lebanese Civil War.

Early life 'Awwad was born in Bharsaf, a village in Matn District, the second of seven children. His father worked as a real estate expert and building contractor, and his mother was born into a conservative village. 'Awwad's early life and childhood was heavily affected by World War I, which began when he was around three years old. The 1916 famine in Mount Lebanon forced Tawfiq and his family to leave their hometown and move to Zahle, where his father opened a small restaurant. However, an outbreak of fever in Zahle forced the family to return to Bharsaf.

'Awwad wrote his second novel, Death in Beirut, more than 30 years after al-Raghif. The story takes place in Lebanon after the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. It follows the heroine, Tamima Nassour, a Shia Muslim teenage girl who leaves her village of Mahdiyya in southern Lebanon to enroll in university in Beirut. She becomes politically engaged while at university, is seduced by a rebellious writer, and falls in love with a Maronite Christian student named Hani Raai. Meanwhile, her ne'er-do-well brother Jaber Nessour squanders the family's money, tries to prevent Tamima from attending university, and even attempts to murder her. At the book's climax, Hani rejects her when he learns of her past. The book finishes with Tamima deciding to join the fedayeen, Palestinian guerrilla fighters. The author uses Tamima's story to show the challenges and cultural changes faced by Lebanese youth in the aftermath of the war and amid the Israeli raids on the fedayeen. The novel also focuses on gender relations in Lebanon and the restrictions and violence that women often faced.

Works

Short story collections al-Sabi al a'raj (The Limping Boy), 1936 Qamis al-suf (The Woollen Shirt), 1937 al-'Adhara (The Virgins), 1944 Matar al-Saki (Frosty Airport), 1982

Novels al-Raghif (The Loaf), 1939. Tawahin Beirut, 1972. Translated as Death in Beirut, 1976.

Plays The Tourist and The Guide