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العلكة
“Students! Write this down in your notebooks! Chewing is infinite!”
Young Mukhtar is frozen in time, gazing at his beloved Fatma as she disappears into the streets of Tripoli, destined to a life of prostitution. Around these young lovers, Bushnaf weaves a compelling network of images: a litter-strewn park, a bewitching Italian statue and a fluttering red scarf. Through these images, imbued with social, historical and existential import, Bushnaf paints a dark portrait of a country in crisis and an individual, alone at the centre of conflicting ideologies, all attempting to explain his existence away.
With its satirical and semi-journalistic style, Chewing Gum is an existential quest to understand how a society exists beneath a repressive dictatorship. The rhythmic act of chewing relentlessly continues as individuals, time and land turn to waste. In this debut novel, no one escapes the critical gaze of a writer who witnessed first-hand the brutality of Gaddafi’s regime. At times downright funny and at times poignantly sad, Chewing Gum depicts the academics, politicians and businessmen of Libya who all claim a monopoly on the truth of the country but who all, inevitably, fail the individual.
Young Mukhtar is frozen in time, gazing at his beloved Fatma as she disappears into the streets of Tripoli, destined to a life of prostitution. Around these young lovers, Bushnaf weaves a compelling network of images: a litter-strewn park, a bewitching Italian statue and a fluttering red scarf. Through these images, imbued with social, historical and existential import, Bushnaf paints a dark portrait of a country in crisis and an individual, alone at the centre of conflicting ideologies, all attempting to explain his existence away.
With its satirical and semi-journalistic style, Chewing Gum is an existential quest to understand how a society exists beneath a repressive dictatorship. The rhythmic act of chewing relentlessly continues as individuals, time and land turn to waste. In this debut novel, no one escapes the critical gaze of a writer who witnessed first-hand the brutality of Gaddafi’s regime. At times downright funny and at times poignantly sad, Chewing Gum depicts the academics, politicians and businessmen of Libya who all claim a monopoly on the truth of the country but who all, inevitably, fail the individual.
150 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2008
10 people are currently reading
282 people want to read
About the author
Mansour Bushnaf
3 books17 followersMansour Bushnaf (Arabic: منصور بوشناف) (born 1954) is a Libyan writer. He began his literary career as a playwright and essayist, before writing his debut novel Chewing Gum (novel) which was banned in 2008 in Libya Bushnaf’s essays have appeared in the Al-Hayat, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Al-Arab and Al-Wasat[disambiguation needed]. The English translation of his novel, Chewing Gum (novel), was published in 2014. He currently lives and writes in Tripoli.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 8, 2014
This book is a gem in itself by virtue of the scarcity of Libyan novels and short stories. The Gadhafi regime was, unfortunately, successful in repressing Libyan authors and choking the desire to read and write from the people.
I was actually surprised to hear that this was a translated version of the Arabic novel published in 2007. It doesn't have the typical stilted language and dry interpretation that most translated works do. Instead, the language flows beautifully and articulately, conveying to the reader the spirit of old Tripoli.
It's not a typical love story, as the description construes. It's more of a glimpse into Libya and the turbulent history of the country, jumping from various time periods in a seemingly random order. There is a range of characters who are all interconnected (perhaps a nod to close-knit Libyan society) and even the statue, or the park where the hero waits, are given a life of their own.
The story is built around the relationship between Fatma and Mukhtar. Fatma leaves Mukhtar as she enters a life of prostitution, while Mukhtar (who is seldom described in the book) waits in the park where she left him, for ten years. Fatma is the real lead in this story as her journey is traced.
The story can also be seen as a satirical take on Libyan society, such as the professors who come from abroad and try to apply their academic experiments to the streets of Tripoli (as a student, I can really appreciate this jab), and the complex web of Libyan tribes and family connections.
What I also loved about this book was the raw, explicit narrative. Libya is often labelled as a conservative country while ignoring (usually deliberately) the obvious problems and dysfunctions that are our dominate characteristics. Fatma became a prostitute because she wanted a better life that her family couldn't provide her, because of the limitations of the Gadhafi regime. Rahma smoked hookah to forget the pain of abandonment, Omar Effendi engaged in depravity because his life's purpose was stripped away by the government.
While it can hardly be considered a feminist text, there's a distinct theme of female struggles and suffering in Libyan society. A lot of symbolism can be found in the writing despite the shortness of the novel, and it's filled with art, culture, history and philosophy.
I really have nothing to criticize about it. The narrative occasionally meandered, but this wasn't a constant issue. My only real complaint is that it ended too quickly.
I was actually surprised to hear that this was a translated version of the Arabic novel published in 2007. It doesn't have the typical stilted language and dry interpretation that most translated works do. Instead, the language flows beautifully and articulately, conveying to the reader the spirit of old Tripoli.
It's not a typical love story, as the description construes. It's more of a glimpse into Libya and the turbulent history of the country, jumping from various time periods in a seemingly random order. There is a range of characters who are all interconnected (perhaps a nod to close-knit Libyan society) and even the statue, or the park where the hero waits, are given a life of their own.
The story is built around the relationship between Fatma and Mukhtar. Fatma leaves Mukhtar as she enters a life of prostitution, while Mukhtar (who is seldom described in the book) waits in the park where she left him, for ten years. Fatma is the real lead in this story as her journey is traced.
The story can also be seen as a satirical take on Libyan society, such as the professors who come from abroad and try to apply their academic experiments to the streets of Tripoli (as a student, I can really appreciate this jab), and the complex web of Libyan tribes and family connections.
What I also loved about this book was the raw, explicit narrative. Libya is often labelled as a conservative country while ignoring (usually deliberately) the obvious problems and dysfunctions that are our dominate characteristics. Fatma became a prostitute because she wanted a better life that her family couldn't provide her, because of the limitations of the Gadhafi regime. Rahma smoked hookah to forget the pain of abandonment, Omar Effendi engaged in depravity because his life's purpose was stripped away by the government.
While it can hardly be considered a feminist text, there's a distinct theme of female struggles and suffering in Libyan society. A lot of symbolism can be found in the writing despite the shortness of the novel, and it's filled with art, culture, history and philosophy.
I really have nothing to criticize about it. The narrative occasionally meandered, but this wasn't a constant issue. My only real complaint is that it ended too quickly.
September 20, 2014
Great book that was recommended by Nada
I loved all the different stories in the book and finished it all in one read .
I loved all the different stories in the book and finished it all in one read .
September 30, 2014
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Chewing Gum provides a satirical and semi-journalistic style look into life beneath a repressive dictatorship. Bushnaf fills this novel with first-hand experience that creates a rich and harsh reality within the pages, contrastingly written in such a poetic style that the brutality hits even harder, passages lingering even after you have set the book down. I will say that this book does discuss some hard hitting topics and subjects that may not be suitable for younger readers, such as prostitution, sex, assault and masturbation, but none are discussed in any way that seems to excuse the characters' actions, neither does it present these topics in a graphic way.
As someone who knows very little about politics and as someone who previously knew very little about most African countries, at first I found this novel slightly confusing because I feel the author sometimes assumes that the reader would know about these things but I wouldn't let that put you off picking this book up at all. After the first few chapters everything started to make a lot more sense; this is mostly down to Mansour Bushnaf's amazing way of painting a picture of the country in which this book is set.
With some translated fiction I have read, the writing seems stilted and does not flow in a natural and organic way; that is not the case with this. The writing style is simple enough to understand easily but has a perfect balance between lyrical and realistic. With an omniscient first-person plural narrator, the story seems to be told through the reader's eyes, calling Mukhtar 'our hero'. This unusual choice of tense really lends itself well to the story being told and makes you feel a lot more involved in the story taking place.
The short, vignette-like, chapters feel almost like interconnected short stories rather than one novel yet the links individual threads of storyline into one cohesive plot. Sometimes at just 3 pages, these titled chapters seem to fly by whilst reading and yet they really pack a punch with their powerful and emotive language.
My only complaint would be that I found the ending a bit confusing but that may be down to my own ignorances when it comes to philosophy; it's not that I don't know anything about philosophy, I just think that this book explores a lot of different philosophical ideas, not all of which I could grasp with this first reading. However, I think that this book would definitely benefit from rereading.
Overall I would definitely recommend this novel. The amount of philosophical ideas, imagery and metaphor throughout the book really make me wish that this book was chosen by universities to study. It's inclusion of Libyan politics and culture was fascinating and I am so glad that I read it and that Bushnaf's work is now available to read!
Chewing Gum provides a satirical and semi-journalistic style look into life beneath a repressive dictatorship. Bushnaf fills this novel with first-hand experience that creates a rich and harsh reality within the pages, contrastingly written in such a poetic style that the brutality hits even harder, passages lingering even after you have set the book down. I will say that this book does discuss some hard hitting topics and subjects that may not be suitable for younger readers, such as prostitution, sex, assault and masturbation, but none are discussed in any way that seems to excuse the characters' actions, neither does it present these topics in a graphic way.
As someone who knows very little about politics and as someone who previously knew very little about most African countries, at first I found this novel slightly confusing because I feel the author sometimes assumes that the reader would know about these things but I wouldn't let that put you off picking this book up at all. After the first few chapters everything started to make a lot more sense; this is mostly down to Mansour Bushnaf's amazing way of painting a picture of the country in which this book is set.
With some translated fiction I have read, the writing seems stilted and does not flow in a natural and organic way; that is not the case with this. The writing style is simple enough to understand easily but has a perfect balance between lyrical and realistic. With an omniscient first-person plural narrator, the story seems to be told through the reader's eyes, calling Mukhtar 'our hero'. This unusual choice of tense really lends itself well to the story being told and makes you feel a lot more involved in the story taking place.
The short, vignette-like, chapters feel almost like interconnected short stories rather than one novel yet the links individual threads of storyline into one cohesive plot. Sometimes at just 3 pages, these titled chapters seem to fly by whilst reading and yet they really pack a punch with their powerful and emotive language.
My only complaint would be that I found the ending a bit confusing but that may be down to my own ignorances when it comes to philosophy; it's not that I don't know anything about philosophy, I just think that this book explores a lot of different philosophical ideas, not all of which I could grasp with this first reading. However, I think that this book would definitely benefit from rereading.
Overall I would definitely recommend this novel. The amount of philosophical ideas, imagery and metaphor throughout the book really make me wish that this book was chosen by universities to study. It's inclusion of Libyan politics and culture was fascinating and I am so glad that I read it and that Bushnaf's work is now available to read!
July 3, 2022
It had been long since I’ve read a book that immediately after finishing it, made me want to start again right then. But Chewing Gum by Mansour Bushnaf (Libya, 2007) is not your typical love story.
Mukhtar, a young, spoiled and “serial-dater” in Tripoli (who to think about it, gives me that villain-from-a-Taylor-Swift-song vibe), is terribly attracted to Fatma, a young girl from a middle class family (she’d describe herself as *ahem* ambitious) and takes her to a neglected park and the art museum on dates, scheming on how to get much more than a kiss. But in this tug-and-pull, Mukhtar, like many others before him, becomes infatuated with a statue of a woman longing for a kiss and ends up being walked out on by Fatma, who knows very well that such romanticized infatuation won’t get her where she wants to go. He spends 10 years frozen in that moment, right there, when Libya is mesmerized by the evil spell of gum. Yeap. The story is a ride. And I enjoyed every turn. A satire on capitalism, western cultural imperialism and living under an oppressive dictatorship full of whispered hidden meanings and literary references but also a very much binge-watch-worthy soapy love story.
Mukhtar, a young, spoiled and “serial-dater” in Tripoli (who to think about it, gives me that villain-from-a-Taylor-Swift-song vibe), is terribly attracted to Fatma, a young girl from a middle class family (she’d describe herself as *ahem* ambitious) and takes her to a neglected park and the art museum on dates, scheming on how to get much more than a kiss. But in this tug-and-pull, Mukhtar, like many others before him, becomes infatuated with a statue of a woman longing for a kiss and ends up being walked out on by Fatma, who knows very well that such romanticized infatuation won’t get her where she wants to go. He spends 10 years frozen in that moment, right there, when Libya is mesmerized by the evil spell of gum. Yeap. The story is a ride. And I enjoyed every turn. A satire on capitalism, western cultural imperialism and living under an oppressive dictatorship full of whispered hidden meanings and literary references but also a very much binge-watch-worthy soapy love story.
October 6, 2024
Mr. Mansour Bushnaf, what is in that brain of yours?!
The prose was beautiful, the story was brilliant, and best of all, it is a Libyan book by a Libyan author.
The world lacks Libyan literature, and this was a diamond amongst the ruins. Very packed with powerful punches. I have to say I don't fully understand all of the story's nuances and it begs me another two-three reads. All can read it, but I bet those familiar with Libya would resonate differently with it.
Entertaining, thought-provoking, and tragic. The tale of Libya. Would love to read more of Bushnaf's work, and will definitely be re-reading this one.
The prose was beautiful, the story was brilliant, and best of all, it is a Libyan book by a Libyan author.
The world lacks Libyan literature, and this was a diamond amongst the ruins. Very packed with powerful punches. I have to say I don't fully understand all of the story's nuances and it begs me another two-three reads. All can read it, but I bet those familiar with Libya would resonate differently with it.
Entertaining, thought-provoking, and tragic. The tale of Libya. Would love to read more of Bushnaf's work, and will definitely be re-reading this one.
January 13, 2022
Synkeää satiiria Libyasta.
Chewing Gum on samaan aikaan keveä ja hirvittävän hämmentävä lukukokemus. Lyhyissä, melkein vinjettimäisissä, palasissa kerrottu tarina kertoo Mukhtarista ja tämän rakastamasta Fatmasta. Mukhtar jää kymmeneksi vuodeksi seisomaan paikoilleen puistoon ja Fatma alkaa prostituiduksi, pääasiassa koska haluaa purkkaa.
Alkuasetelma on siis äärimmäisen kutkuttava. Ja itse tarinan keskiössä on merkityksen etsintä modernin libyalaisen elämän keskellä. Keskeisiä metaforia tälle ovat purkka, jonka jäystäminen edustaa eksistentialismia itsessään, hedonismia, läntistä kulttuuria ja toisaalta vapautta sekä maaginen patsas, joka jättää katsojansa kivettyneisyyden tilaan. Näitä ilmiöitä analysoivat erilaiset koomiset ulkomailla opiskelleet professorit, jotka eivät ymmärrä normaalia elämää. Bushnaf, joka itse vietti kymmenen vuotta vankilassa Gaddafin pilkkaamisesta näytelmässään, on selvästi oiva libyalaisen yhteiskunnan tulkki.
Chewing Gum ei ole täydellinen, mutta siinä on ytyä. Huomaa, että Bushnaf on ensisijaisesti näytelmäkirjailija: lyhyet kohtaukset piirtyvät selkeästi mielen näyttämölle, vaikka niitä ei ihan täysin ymmärtäisi.
Chewing Gum on samaan aikaan keveä ja hirvittävän hämmentävä lukukokemus. Lyhyissä, melkein vinjettimäisissä, palasissa kerrottu tarina kertoo Mukhtarista ja tämän rakastamasta Fatmasta. Mukhtar jää kymmeneksi vuodeksi seisomaan paikoilleen puistoon ja Fatma alkaa prostituiduksi, pääasiassa koska haluaa purkkaa.
Alkuasetelma on siis äärimmäisen kutkuttava. Ja itse tarinan keskiössä on merkityksen etsintä modernin libyalaisen elämän keskellä. Keskeisiä metaforia tälle ovat purkka, jonka jäystäminen edustaa eksistentialismia itsessään, hedonismia, läntistä kulttuuria ja toisaalta vapautta sekä maaginen patsas, joka jättää katsojansa kivettyneisyyden tilaan. Näitä ilmiöitä analysoivat erilaiset koomiset ulkomailla opiskelleet professorit, jotka eivät ymmärrä normaalia elämää. Bushnaf, joka itse vietti kymmenen vuotta vankilassa Gaddafin pilkkaamisesta näytelmässään, on selvästi oiva libyalaisen yhteiskunnan tulkki.
Chewing Gum ei ole täydellinen, mutta siinä on ytyä. Huomaa, että Bushnaf on ensisijaisesti näytelmäkirjailija: lyhyet kohtaukset piirtyvät selkeästi mielen näyttämölle, vaikka niitä ei ihan täysin ymmärtäisi.
November 12, 2014
Each chapter as well as the novel ended abruptly,tricked into the detail then abandoned is how i felt throughout the book,i wish the author could have kneaded more out of his imagination.
I enjoyed how the plot weaved back and forth in time and also between the characters in a philosophical manner,and the description was refreshing.
As a Tripoli resident it was easier to imagine the times and places,and the frustration in the story easily resonates in any Libyan.
I enjoyed how the plot weaved back and forth in time and also between the characters in a philosophical manner,and the description was refreshing.
As a Tripoli resident it was easier to imagine the times and places,and the frustration in the story easily resonates in any Libyan.
July 11, 2016
Just finished Chewing Gum, Mansour Bushnaf's fabulous and fabulist satirical first novel about love, Libya, and chewing gum, with a fair helping of glib academic jibberjabber and art history. Who knew chewing gum could have so many political, economic, philosophical, and psychological dimensions! One the funniest books I've read since Stanislaw Lem's The Cyberiad and Vonnegut's oeuvre. 4.5/5 stars.
December 11, 2014
More a series of vignettes than a coherent narrative, Chewing Gum illuminates a number of enigmatic characters lost in the wake of personal and political disappointments. Mukhtar remains frozen in time, waiting for the lost object of young love (or obsession) to return to him; Fatma cannot run away fast enough, seeking independence and control while sustaining herself through prostitution. Omar Effendi sold his humanity killing a crowd of protesters for a government that no longer exists and looses himself in carnality, while his twice-abandoned wife Rahma smokes endless rounds of sheesha and waits in vain for her lover.
The narrative is swamped with beautiful but opaque images and stories- the abandoned park, the singer, the statue inspiring obsessive love, pompous academics, and endless chewing of gum. There are no neat metaphors to read here, and while individual strands are thought provoking the book does not provide markers to read the text in terms of clear analogies to specific political or social issues in Libya. It hints, it mocks, it mourns, but I do not know that this text really explains. Nevertheless, I do not regret the read.
The narrative is swamped with beautiful but opaque images and stories- the abandoned park, the singer, the statue inspiring obsessive love, pompous academics, and endless chewing of gum. There are no neat metaphors to read here, and while individual strands are thought provoking the book does not provide markers to read the text in terms of clear analogies to specific political or social issues in Libya. It hints, it mocks, it mourns, but I do not know that this text really explains. Nevertheless, I do not regret the read.
July 22, 2014
This is a brilliant book. I have enjoyed reading both in Arabic and the English translation. I got the same enjoyment of both books. The book will give insight on a people living under an oppressive dictatorship. Using satire and dark humor to tell the story. Loved it
Read
October 26, 2015A delightfully weird satire set in the early years of Gaddafi-era Libya.
May 27, 2021
Interesting insight into Libyan history, I liked how the author broke the fourth wall throughout. Overall short and sharp.
Read
March 10, 2021Libya. Translated. Statue in the park. Chewing. Obtuse.
November 19, 2021
Would have been better if read all in one sitting. The second half is better
August 9, 2022
رواية غنية بحبكتها الليبية العبقرية
ستأخذك في رحلة زمنية ممتعة
ستأخذك في رحلة زمنية ممتعة
May 2, 2016
With a near-magic-realist historical sweep reminiscent of Marquez's 'A Hundred Years of Solitude,' this novel captivated me at first. In Qaddafi's Libya, Fatma walks away from her lover Mukthar, and from their relationship, stranding him in a famous Tripoli park. Watching her disappear into the horizon, he freezes in place, a statue for the next decade awaiting her return. This after their brief courtship had centered around a nearby statue of a voluptuous woman, a statue of mysterious historical origin and transfixing erotic power.
So far so good. I had to bone up on the basics of modern Libyan history, and then enjoyed the historical references, especially about the park and the potent female statue.
The central metaphor is, unsurprisingly, chewing gum. Throughout the country, it suddenly becomes an obsession to chew gum. The government doesn't seem to like this. Women, especially Fatma, equate the act with sexual liberation. No, wait: in fact, they identify it with prostitution. A page or two later, the narrator insists that gum chewing is a defence against female oppression. In the next chapter, it seems to be a broader act of political disobedience.
Oh, no, actually it's a symbol of encroaching Western consumerism.
Clunk clunk clunk.
Everyone is chewing, men and women, most literally chewing gum, others chewing figuratively on culture, on one another. If chewing gum means everything and anything, ultimately it came to mean absolutely nothing to this reader.
In the final pages, the author makes an inane last-ditch effort to link chewing gum to stuttering, actually saying that this twist "gives our text a chance for continuity and progress," while also marking "the beginning of the breakdown of its fragile structure." Yeah, um, more the latter than the former.
The characters are memorable. But they each get a chapter of their own at the beginning and another chapter near the end, and the second one is a virtual repeat of the earlier one.
The novel has awakened in me a desire to read better books about Libya, and I certainly find this novelist's biographical story--a dozen years in prison for a 1976 play; this, his first novel, remains banned in his own country--interesting. I wish he'd chewed on his material here a long while longer before publishing. As it is, the novel is infuriatingly bad.
So far so good. I had to bone up on the basics of modern Libyan history, and then enjoyed the historical references, especially about the park and the potent female statue.
The central metaphor is, unsurprisingly, chewing gum. Throughout the country, it suddenly becomes an obsession to chew gum. The government doesn't seem to like this. Women, especially Fatma, equate the act with sexual liberation. No, wait: in fact, they identify it with prostitution. A page or two later, the narrator insists that gum chewing is a defence against female oppression. In the next chapter, it seems to be a broader act of political disobedience.
Oh, no, actually it's a symbol of encroaching Western consumerism.
Clunk clunk clunk.
Everyone is chewing, men and women, most literally chewing gum, others chewing figuratively on culture, on one another. If chewing gum means everything and anything, ultimately it came to mean absolutely nothing to this reader.
In the final pages, the author makes an inane last-ditch effort to link chewing gum to stuttering, actually saying that this twist "gives our text a chance for continuity and progress," while also marking "the beginning of the breakdown of its fragile structure." Yeah, um, more the latter than the former.
The characters are memorable. But they each get a chapter of their own at the beginning and another chapter near the end, and the second one is a virtual repeat of the earlier one.
The novel has awakened in me a desire to read better books about Libya, and I certainly find this novelist's biographical story--a dozen years in prison for a 1976 play; this, his first novel, remains banned in his own country--interesting. I wish he'd chewed on his material here a long while longer before publishing. As it is, the novel is infuriatingly bad.
March 4, 2024
the word chew may just trigger a sense of defeat in me for the rest of my life
March 7, 2016
Chewing gum was a little to figurative for my taste. I would probably discover additional meaning from a reread, but it wasn't interesting enough to warrant a reread in my case. In the end, I did manage to gleam some meaning out of the relationship between the two main characters. The side characters were introduced in a way that was drawn out and confusing. Therefore, it was difficult to care much about the side stories or characters. I was hoping for more of a glimpse into Libyan society.
October 24, 2020
Satirisk, postmoderne kortroman om Libyens moderne historie, om livet under et repressivt militærdiktatur, om politiske ideologier, verdensfjerne filosoffer, kvindeundertrykkelse, prostitution, kærlighed og erotisk besættelse og … ja, tyggegummi, masser af tyggegummi.
Læs hele min anmeldelse her: https://bognoter.dk/2020/01/21/mansou...
Læs hele min anmeldelse her: https://bognoter.dk/2020/01/21/mansou...
April 25, 2019
Mansour Bushnaf will amaze you and you'll want to learn more about Libya after reading this.
English: https://elifthereader.com/books/chewi...
Türkçe: https://kitaplikkedisi.com/kitaplar/c...
English: https://elifthereader.com/books/chewi...
Türkçe: https://kitaplikkedisi.com/kitaplar/c...
May 24, 2016
المؤلف صاغ هذه الرواية بأسلوب إخباري لغلبة مهنته الصحفية عليه! كما أنه لم يسترسل في الحكي كأنه يحاول أن يتخلص من كتابتها بأسرع وقت
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