THE SHORT STORIES OF ZAKARIA TAMER
the world of the creative work, with its distinctive atmosphere. In this Tamer has succeeded impressively. He has chosen a style that creates tension and anger in the story, pulling the reader from the realm of everyday life to plunge him into an atmosphere of magic brimming with secrets. We encounter many symbols, similes and metaphors in the language he employs.
Tamer’s language is characterised by a poetic idiom that is mingled with a range of feelings and a variety of symbolic allusions, as well as a richness of imagination in his portrayals. Because the language of his stories relies on elements of inspiration it represents a halfway
ZAKARIA TAMER
Our Father Who Art in Heaven, and Our Killer Who Is on Earth
Policemen dressed in black beat up an old man with an unkempt beard. Their beating was long and painful. Believing that any moment he was going to breathe his last and, bidding this short earthly life farewell, he cried out angrily: “There is no god but God.” But the beating became more intense and savage, accompanied by a reminder that there are two gods: one in Heaven who is obeyed sometimes, and one on earth who is always obeyed.
Our Country
There is a country that has baffled historians. Every time one of its rulers becomes convinced that he will occupy his throne forever, he flies from his palace to his grave like the flight of eagles and hawks, and no one walks in his funeral procession save his envied killer.
TRANSLATED BY IBRAHIM MUHAWI Translated from Al-Mihmaz, Zakaria Tamer’s
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100 BANIPAL 53 – SUMMER 2015