JEDDAH: Saudi novelist Abdo Khal won the $60,000 prestigious International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his work “Spewing Sparks as Big as Castles,” published by Al-Jamal Publications.
“The winning novel is a brilliant exploration of the relationship between the individual and the state.  Through the eyes of its two dimensional protagonist, the book gives the reader a taste of the horrifying reality of the excessive world of the palace,” said Taleb Alrefai, chair for this year’s panel of judges.
“Spewing Sparks as Big as Castles” is set in Jeddah, where the author lives. He compares part of the town to heaven and part of it to hell and then writes a graphic account of sex, repression, love and despair. The book depicts the seductive powers of a palace and those who have become its puppets, telling “the agonizing story of those who have become enslaved by it, drawn by its promise of glamour,” said the organizers of the prize.
Khal, who studied political science in Jeddah before becoming a novelist in 1980, was extremely happy over the big win. “Although I was chosen among the finalists, I did not expect to win,” said the author, who has written six novels and several collections of short stories.
The center of his fictional universe is the village where he was born and which he left at young age with his family in search of a better life.
Like their maker, Khal’s heroes come from marginal groups and struggle for salvation. Khal writes in a distinctive, identifiable style blending classical and colloquial Arabic and the southern and Hijazi dialects.
Khal was unveiled as winner of the award Tuesday evening in Abu Dhabi.
The Saudi writer beat five short-listed authors to win the prize, which is run with the support of the UK’s Booker Prize Foundation and funded by the Emirates foundation. There were 113 entries from 17 countries for this year’s prize.
Born in Al-Majanah in the southern province of Jazan in 1962, he studied political science at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. His works include “A Dialogue at the Gates of the Earth,” “There’s Nothing to be Happy About,” and “Cities Eating the Grass.”