Righteousness

The life of Shanouq, this strange, mysterious man, unfolds before us through the women in his life. Through them, the novel explores stages in Yemen's political history, from before unification to secession again. Then comes Saleh's victory over the al-Beidh group in the north and reunification, until the narrator narrates more recent chapters in Yemen's history, particularly the rise of the Houthis and their fight against the regime's group.
Shenouk lives alone in the darkness of his home, fearing persecution by the regime due to his past political activities. Only Ghazal, a twenty-year-old woman whose difficult life circumstances have turned her into a prostitute, is allowed to visit him. He has no other friend except the imam of the mosque, who is married to the sherifa who owns the building where he lives.
We learn about Shanouq's biography through messages he exchanged with a person who called himself Adel on Facebook, only to discover later that she was none other than his beloved Bandar, whom he thought had been killed in the 1980s.
The life of Shanoq, this strange and mysterious man, is revealed to us through the women in his life. Through them, the novel showcases episodes from Yemen's political history, from before the unification to subsequent separation, then Saleh's victory over the white men in the north and the reestablishment of unity, leading us to the narrator's narrative of modern chapters from Yemen's history, particularly the rise of the Houthis and their fight against the regime.

Shanoq lives alone in the darkness of his house, fearing the regime would pursue him because of his previous political activities. Only Ghazal, the twenty-year-old who was trying to escape her difficult life circumstances through prostitution, is allowed to visit him. He has no friend except for the mosque's imam who is married to the honorable woman owning the building where Shanoq resides.

We learn about Shanoq's story through the messages he exchanges with a person who calls himself Adel on Facebook, only to discover later that Adel is none other than his longlost lover from the 1980s, who was from AlBandar, and whom he thought was killed.

Between revisiting past events through the letters with the woman from AlBandar and the dialogues with Ghazal, and through the personal journey, experiences, and moves to stay away from all parties, all the way dreaming of emigration, will he succeed in his escape?