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Interview with Syrian writer Dima Wannous
May 23, 2020
ONLINE
Casa Árabe’s Soundcloud channel.
Simultaneous translation into Spanish.
Casa Árabe interviews the author of “The Frightened Ones,” a finalist for the International Award for Fiction in Arabic in 2018. The interview will be held live on Saturday, May 23 on our SoundCloud channel.
What feeling is shared by 23 million Syrians? Why are history and memory at the heart of this novel? In this podcast, Casa Árabe interviews Dima Wannous to give us a closer look at her creative process and find out what lies behind her novel “The Frightened Ones,” a love story full of twists and turns, along with anguish, panic and suffering.
Also participating in the podcast are Pilar González Meyaui, of the publishing firm Sitara, and Marina Sanmartín Pla, a noir novel author and bookshop owner at Cervantes y Cía. “The Frightened Ones” was a finalist for the International Award for Fiction in Arabic in 2018.
The presentation of “The Frightened Ones” was scheduled for late January at Casa Árabe’s headquarters in Madrid and Cordoba, but unforeseen events have forced us to cancel.
How can a mother’s heart remain cold and at peace while her son, still alive, is being tortured all day long? Can life go back to its normal ways and return to its original pace as if nothing had ever happened? Can someone who has experienced the stench of death ever regain their sense of smell? In certain cases, does death somehow induce life and dignity? Would she have rather been a dignified, courageous wife, instead of living with a cowardly, submissive husband for thirty-two years? How does a human being turn into a monster? Does it happen suddenly or in stages? Dima Wannous attempts to answer these questions in “The Frightened Ones,” giving readers a closer look at the tortuous love story between Sulaima and Nasim, two youths who live mired in the anguish, panic and suffering of Syria, a country devastated by war. “The Frightened Ones” was a finalist for the International Award for Fiction in Arabic in 2018.
Dima Wannous (Damascus, 1982). Wannous is a writer, translator and cultural journalist who contributes to the newspapers Al Safir, Al Hayat and The Washington Post. The author drew critics’ attention with "Details", a collection of short stories published in 2007. In 2008, she had her first novel published, "The Chair." Dima Wannous was included on the list “Beirut 39,” a collaborative project of the Hay Festival and the magazine Banipal, which held a contest to choose the most promising 39 Arab authors under the age of 40.
The presentation of “The Frightened Ones” was scheduled for late January at Casa Árabe’s headquarters in Madrid and Cordoba, but unforeseen events have forced us to cancel.
How can a mother’s heart remain cold and at peace while her son, still alive, is being tortured all day long? Can life go back to its normal ways and return to its original pace as if nothing had ever happened? Can someone who has experienced the stench of death ever regain their sense of smell? In certain cases, does death somehow induce life and dignity? Would she have rather been a dignified, courageous wife, instead of living with a cowardly, submissive husband for thirty-two years? How does a human being turn into a monster? Does it happen suddenly or in stages? Dima Wannous attempts to answer these questions in “The Frightened Ones,” giving readers a closer look at the tortuous love story between Sulaima and Nasim, two youths who live mired in the anguish, panic and suffering of Syria, a country devastated by war. “The Frightened Ones” was a finalist for the International Award for Fiction in Arabic in 2018.
Dima Wannous (Damascus, 1982). Wannous is a writer, translator and cultural journalist who contributes to the newspapers Al Safir, Al Hayat and The Washington Post. The author drew critics’ attention with "Details", a collection of short stories published in 2007. In 2008, she had her first novel published, "The Chair." Dima Wannous was included on the list “Beirut 39,” a collaborative project of the Hay Festival and the magazine Banipal, which held a contest to choose the most promising 39 Arab authors under the age of 40.
