ARAPSKI ROMAN ALIJENACIJE: „BAMBUSOVA STABLjIKA“ SAUDA SANUSIJA

This paper deals with the problem of alienation in Saud Alsanousi’s (Saud al-San‘ūsī, 1981) novel The Bamboo Stalk (Sāq al-bāmbū, 2012), which won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (often referred to as the Arabic Booker) in 2013. With first-person narration, the novel tells a story about a half-Filipino, half-Kuwaiti teen who is struggling with his hybrid iden- tity. Set partly in the postcolonial Philippines, partly in oil-rich Kuwait, this novel depicts the main character’s quest for a place where he belongs. The Bamboo Stalk is a heartbreaking story about alienation, non-belonging, non-acceptance, identity, and „otherness”. Alsanousi portrays life in the multicultural society of Kuwait while shedding light on conservatism, dis- crimination, racism, and lack of human rights. Due to the high influx of foreign workers, huge socio-economic differences between people, and rigid social norms, Kuwait is the place where people often feel alienated, frustrated, and unable to fit in. The theme of alienated modern man has been common in contemporary Arabic fiction, and central to a vast number of literary studies. It is also one of the themes of the Kuwaiti literature, which is still very young. The Kuwaiti novel has not received the attention it deserves from Arabic literature scholars yet. We believe that The Bamboo Stalk is worth the attention because it contributes to the development of Kuwaiti novels both thematically and formally while exploring problems of different social groups in contemporary Kuwait.