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y separately published work icon ثلاثون حكاية selected work   short story  
Thalathoun hikaya
Issue Details: First known date: 2011... 2011 ثلاثون حكاية
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Notes

  • English translation of the title: Thirty stories
  • Dedication:
    الى بطرس عنداري، صديقي
    [To Boutros Andari, my friend]
  • Epigraph:
    كلما عظمت حدة التجربة
    تضاءلت حظوظ التعبير عنها
    هارولد بنتر
    [Every time the strength of the experience becomes greater
    the chances of expressing it become smaller
    -- Harold Pinter]
  • كتب جاد الحاج هذه الحكايات خلال السنوات العشرين الفائتة. بعض مسوداتها منشور في الصحف وبعضها الآخر ضمن مجموعة صغيرة صدرت في استراليا سنة ١٩٨٩ بعنوان "عذراء الصخور".
    [Jad El-Hage wrote these stories during the past twenty years. Some of earlier versions have been published in newspapers and some others within a small collection issued in Australia in 1989 entitled "The Virgin of the Rocks".]

Contents

* Contents derived from the Beirut,
c
Lebanon,
c
Middle East, Asia,:Bissan for Publishing Distribution & Information , 2011 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
الصداقة العاطفية, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
After a year of being best friends, the narrator has finally got a chance to freely love his woman who had tried to avoid that moment because of a burn scar on her waist.
 (p. 9-14)
قطار, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The narrator is on the train in the early morning. He has just proposed to the only person in his carriage.
 (p. 15-19)
جسر الماء, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The narrator is on a mission with his adventurer cousin and childhood friend. They have to cross a high river to the villages on the other side and the bridge has been planted with deadly explosive mines.
 (p. 21-31)
الشَّلَف, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The narrator has gained various skills in theft and has excelled in shootings to the point where he's asking his trainer to bestow his nickname on him.
 (p. 33-38)
أحوال الزرافة, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The narrator is spending his day off at the zoo. While there, he is watching with curiosity the tricks of the magicians.
 (p. 39-45)
جواد السلالة, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
Following an announcement on the news, the narrator decides to become a regular sperm donor thinking that could save him from his state of unemployment and poverty.
 (p. 47-52)
طريق القمة !الحكمة يا ولد, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The narrator has to make a wise decision between a fake marriage to a prostitute in order to open a business in the Gulf, or enjoying his promotion as a chief of the public market in Beirut after the success of his militia operation.
 (p. 53-63)
Note: With title: طريق القمة
سمسار الحرامية, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The narrator is enjoying listening to the news of an old friend who has come to London as his last refuge because of the war in Beirut.
 (p. 65-74)
حنفيّات, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The writer is trying to wash his face after he woke up from a deep sleep. In his hungover state, he is describing his untidy house and the struggles to get clean water from its taps.
 (p. 75-76)
!بلاد حرة, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The narrator is having a bad dream of being at a psychiatric hospital affected by mescalin after eating a poisonous mushroom.
 (p. 77-83)
الفوبيا الجميلة, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The narrator is visiting his friend in hospital when he discovers that he has a phobia for blood as a result of all his experiences during the war.
 (p. 85-93)
غرفة نوم, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
When the vagabond went back to his bedroom on the train platform he found another person sleeping there.
 (p. 95-97)
فرررم...فرررم, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The narrator's car broke down when he was looking for his missing disabled brother. While he was waiting for his car to be fixed, a woman walks in with two men, ordering the mechanic to make her car into an ambulance in order to attack opposition targets.
 (p. 99-106)
قطة في مأزق, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
Margerie is on her way to Los Angeles to visit her grandmother. While she is buying the train ticket, she notices a cat stuck on the overhead wire.
 (p. 107-116)
مستديرة القدر مستديرة الأقدار, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
After a temporary cease-fire, the narrator is hoping to find her lover alive. She goes to his house and all the memories of the past come back.
 (p. 117-122)
Note: With title: مستديرة القدر
الممرضة, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The narrator is describing her apartment building and neighborhood before and after the beginning of the war. Also, she is missing her family, her home and her village which leads her to give up everything and return there.
 (p. 123-127)
سويسرا, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The robot Sweesra has been imported to help the government stop social corruption and the bad habits of the citizens. However, after he discovers a conspiracy within the government, he rebels and tries to recruit other robots to save the city.
 (p. 129-137)
مشمش موسم المشمش, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The narrator and many others are waiting in front of a militia office to get approval to travel. In the meantime, the chief who is supposed to arrive soon is enjoying his lunch and having a nap at his mistress's house, while her husband is getting them apricots from the garden.
 (p. 139-146)
Note: With title: مشمش
الحصان الضاحك, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
After his escape from the stable, Nakheel, the white horse thinks he has gained all the freedom he dreams of. Soon, he discovers that he has been stuck in another prison.
 (p. 147-149)
إبتسامة بيضاء الموت والحريّة, Jad El-Hage , single work short story
The narrator is living an emotional conflict. She has to decide to accept an arranged marriage which helps to pay for the medication of her sick mother. In the meantime, she is still suffering the pain caused by her mother's lover who has sexually assaulted her since she was a child.
 (p. 151-160)
Note: With title: إبتسامة بيضاء
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Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Language: Arabic
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Last amended 12 Dec 2012 09:52:49
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