In praise of the novel

Author's name: Bahaa Taher

“This book is not a book of novel criticism, but rather the opposite, as it faithfully records a laudatory reading of some of the novels and novelists I have loved. They are not all of the ones I have loved, of course, otherwise many books would have been needed, but chance alone had the merit of gathering these chapters... The reader may nevertheless find that in each of its chapters it raises a question or questions related to the art of the novel, stemming from the core of the work being read, not from theories and preconceived ideas that claim what the art of the novel should be; since there are no rules for the novel - in my opinion - other than that it is what is written by talented novelists, whether their trained creativity is capable of distinguishing the real novel from the fake one... However, every novel needs to pass two important tests: “The first test is the public’s judgment, but this judgment may be right or wrong… As for the second test, or the final judgment that cannot be revoked or confirmed – in the language of legal experts – it is the test of time… I say to myself: We are still in the stage of the first test… I am satisfied with my own judgment of what I read, and that is what I advise every reader who loves the novel, even though I believe that readers do it without me saying it.”