Techniques of Condensation and Narration Employed in the Short Story Collection "Shajarat Al-Matar" (Rain Tree)

Abstract

The study examines the short story collection titled "Shajarat Al-Matar" (Rain Tree) by its author Podawara. The collection shares formal and thematic similarities with several other Libyan writers. It consists of twelve stories, along with an appendix containing twenty-one very short stories titled "Unconventional Stories." The collection is led by the story "Um Al-Jarad" (Mother of Locusts), which symbolizes worries, poverty, despair, and a life of misery. The fantastical imagination is evident in both "Um Al-Jarad" and "Shajarat Al-Matar," expressing the realms of reality and unreality, the familiar and the unfamiliar, and the interplay of consciousness and the subconscious. The two stories are characterized by intricacy and interconnectedness in their events. The text indicates that the fictional village of "Um Al-Jarad" represents a symbol of misery and destitution, where the poor and unemployed gather to collect and sell salt. The author discusses the literary and thematic elements of these stories, expressing their personal distinctiveness in the manner that will be further elucidated.