His novel The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist was our book of the month in October 2002.
You can find more information on the book's page.
* Palestenian novelist, born in Haifa in August, 1921, where he remained until his death in May 1996.
* He shifted from one job to another early in his life.
* He was involved in the palestinian nation's resistance against the British occupier and joined the Palestinian Communist Party in the 1940s.
* Began writing short stories in the 1960s, and was editor-in-chief of the Communist Party's Arabic newspaper, Al-Ithad, in the 1970s.
* He was member of the Israeli Knesset from 1953-1972, after which he resigned to write his first novel: Saeed the Pessoptimist, depicting the life and fortunes of an Arab citizen of the state of Israel. Published in 1974, it was an instant success, and remains one of the greatest of modern Arabic novels.
* Many of his novels reflect the palestinian identity within the Arab Israeli conflict.
A selection of his works are :
* 1969 : " Sudaseyyat el-ayyam el-setta "
* 1974: " el-Mutashael "
*1976: "Kafr Kassem "
* 1980: a play "
