Biography of Ain

Author's name: Ibrahim Nasrallah

In the novel "Biography of an Eye" by the Palestinian author Ibrahim Nasrallah, the pioneering Palestinian photographer Karima Abboud (1893–1940) is present on more than one level. In the first half of the last century, Abboud was able to break through a stereotypical reality in which men monopolized the art of photography, earning her the title of pioneer of photography in Palestine and the Arab world. She was able to realize the profound meaning of photography as an art form, which further cemented her leadership—a leadership that is now appreciated worldwide. Karima was able to break through social reality by rebelling against the traditional image of women, asserting her powerful presence as a girl and woman capable of wresting her freedom and securing recognition of her rights. We can consider her one of the renaissance figures who achieved women's freedom in word and deed. If this novel is about all of this, it is also about the art of photography itself, and the story of a family struck to its deepest core by the curse of British colonialism and then Zionism, which plagued Palestine. A different novel about different characters, it seems, with its tenderness, sweetness, and melancholy, to be one of Palestine's most beautiful songs. This epic work, which is an extension of "The Palestinian Comedy," embraces the broader novel project "The Bells Trilogy," which includes three novels: "Shadows of the Keys," "The Biography of an Eye," and "A Tank Under the Christmas Tree." Through it, Ibrahim Nasrallah confirms his extraordinary ability to renew, give, and explore new areas, historically and humanly.