Posted in: Yemen Observer
Written By: Raghda Gamal
Article Date: Feb 7, 2009
The ways Yemeni men think, and details surrounding the disappointments they face in everyday life were recently discussed by Yemeni writer Ahmed Zain, in his new novel American Coffee.
The novel is set at the beginning of the 1990’s in Sana’a, and follows the story of Aref, the novel’s protagonist. Arif is young man who studies English at the British Council. One day he accidentally becomes involved in a demonstration. His involvement in the demonstration becomes the sole subject of discussion with his colleague Aalya, with whom he later falls in love. He seeks to prove to her how brave he is by telling her fake stories about his glorious and dangerous past.
The novel examines Aref’s thought process, and shows readers that he is seeking something worth living for, something to glorify his life, rather than living in constant fear of being killed by a random bullet. The idea of death doesn’t terrify him as much as the idea of dying as an unknown man, worth nothing. In chapter four, the writer uses tragicomedy to describe the grim realty of Yemeni society. His creative approach evokes deep and sad thoughts, and provides the readers with grim details, enough to make any reader, especially Yemeni’s, feel as though they are the real Aref. This is especially true in light of the sad fact that the situation in Yemen hasn’t improved since the beginning of the 1990’s, when the novel is set.
The author describes Sana'a in a beautiful way, mentioning street names and the locations of known buildings to add another dimension to his work, helping the readers feels as though they are watching a movie. Although the writer tries to convey a political message with the name of the novel, (American Coffee) a strong name related to Yemen would be more effective in grabbing the attention of more readers.
The two main problems with this novel are the writing style, which could be seen as inflexible by some readers along with the use of words from English and vernacular Arabic. However these alone are not enough to erase how strong, great and unforgettable a novel it is.
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