The circular narrative structure in the novel (The End of an Angry Man) by Bassam Shams Al-Deen

Yemen

Yemenite

Mohammed Al–Mekhlafi

The novel (The End of an Angry Man) is the seventh work among twelve novels by Yemeni writer Bassam Shams Al-Deen. Its first edition was published in 2020 with a deposit number at the National Library in Sanaa. The author also has two collections of short stories, in addition to four novels ready for publication.

This novel follows (The Prophecy of the Ancients) which, according to some readers, attacked the Republican era. However, its real purpose was to depict the fear and injustice experienced by peasants under the authority of feudal lords during the monarchical era, while alluding to the chaos and corruption that later emerged during the republican era. The writer intended to present a clear picture of both scenes without favoring one side over the other.

In (The End of an Angry Man), Shams Al-Deen discusses classism, some jurists’ belief in racial superiority, and the extremist ideologies that arise from these beliefs. The novel continues its ongoing project of deconstructing social and intellectual problems as they are, without flattery or equivocation.

Shams Al-Deen emphasizes that his writings do not correspond to any social or political doctrine and that he stands with ordinary people crushed by circumstances. This is his own statement and not someone else’s interpretation.

From the first page, the novel moves from the end to the beginning, as if it were built on an exhausted memory trying to recover the past to understand the present.

This narrative technique reflects the nature of the events themselves. Painful experiences are sometimes told in reverse because the narrator cannot face the trauma directly.

I was captivated by the voice of the narrator, the twelve-year-old (Zaid). Narrating through a child’s point of view gives the novel a special sensitivity, but it also reveals that childhood at that time was far from normal. Zaid is a child in years but mature in his thoughts, as if difficult circumstances forced him to grow up faster than he should have.

On the third page, Zaid describes a delicate family situation when he suggests that Hind come to the village to study. Parents’ reactions, marked by hesitation and anxiety, reveal a harsh truth: the scarcity of educational structures in remote areas.

The mother’s protective attitude and confusion as well as the father’s proposed compromise reflect the depth of parental care and the struggle between emotional attachment and the desire to provide better opportunities for their daughter. With serene realism, the text presents the challenges that families face in raising their children.

Amid this limited access to education, the environment becomes a fertile ground for extremist ideas to emerge. This appears when the father slaps his daughter Zahra for revealing her legs.

The event is not trivial, it reflects a state of mind which considers the body as a source of shame and conflicts with religion and honor. Violence becomes part of education in an environment shaped by isolation and poverty.

Anger is the exposed nerve of the novel. Its title prepares the reader for a story driven by emotional tension, embodied in the character of Malek, described on page 5 as agitated like a damned devil and prone to anger and domination.

He is a young man shaped by contradiction, raised in a kind family but carrying learned anger, perhaps because of his exiled father or the family’s painful history. His violence is not a reaction but is part of his identity.

In the reckless driving scene on pages (7 and 8) where Malek scares two children and laughs smugly, violence appears as a means of control and construction of male superiority.

His words, which shame Zaid for shouting, encapsulate an entire concept of manliness in this environment. Manliness is measured by the ability to endure or inflict pain without showing weakness.

Despite the fractured family structure, she is not completely devoid of tenderness. Aunt Fawziya, although exiled, appears with a warm heart, as the bearer of an emotional refuge which contrasts with the cruelty which surrounds the family.

His exile reveals the family’s fragility in the face of patriarchal authority, but his presence confirms that goodness can survive even in difficult environments.

The grandfather appears on page (37) in a moment of deep vulnerability. Her initial refusal to accept Hind reveals a heavy burden of shame associated with Fawziya’s past. His silence, his trembling voice, and his eventual change of heart reveal an internal conflict between the principles he has inherited and the compassion he represses. Little by little, he transforms from a rigid guardian of tradition into a reluctant protector, exposing the emotional logic that underlies the circular structure of the novel, where old wounds continually resurface.

Malek, for his part, plays the angry man. His outward politeness conceals his resentment, and his whispered words reveal deep emotional wounds and a lingering feeling of rejection. His hostility is both learned and inherited, part of a legacy of anger passed down from generation to generation.

Hind becomes a pawn caught between competing forces. Her plea to stay with her grandfather reflects innocence and a sincere desire to belong, confronted with the heavy shadows that family reputation casts over personal connections.

Zaid’s role as narrator and participant intensifies here. His decision to hold Hind’s arm and stand at his side reveals a growing moral conscience, marking his transition from observer to active challenger of the contradictions of the adult world.

The scene is rich with unspoken history. The grandfather’s broken question about Fawziya speaks volumes about a broken bond. Malek’s defensive pride in declaring his financial success exposes his need to deny poverty as a marker of inferiority.

This moment illustrates how anger, shame and rigid social codes distort relationships. But it also shows that compassion can break these patterns, even if only briefly. The novel’s circular narrative becomes evident as each present event forces the characters to confront unresolved past conflicts.

History reveals a hidden legacy of anger. Zaid grew up surrounded by angry men, as if he were destined to become angry himself. The novel seems to be an attempt to save him from this fate. The death of his father, his fear for Hind, his complicated relationship with school and his fragmented memories offer a glimpse of a child struggling to escape the legacy that haunts his family.

Human emotion reaches its peak when Zaid presents the white bag containing his father’s remains on page (40). This moment symbolizes the collapse of the father’s authority and the end of his anger. It’s as if the novel were saying that violence always results in silent fragility.

The father’s memories of his sister Fawziya reveal a dark past that haunted him for twenty years. His dream is the echo of an old hurt transformed into lingering anger. The belief that a woman’s disobedience, even in the name of love, is an unforgivable sin reveals the rigid mindset that shaped him. This conflict between tradition and personal freedom fuels anger and psychological disorders.

Fawziya’s invitation to visit him marks a new turning point. The father is torn between old anger and family duty, between love and fear of confronting a painful past. His anger becomes a defense mechanism wrapped in moral and religious justification.

The novel documents the father’s breakdown and the beginning of the son’s independent emergence. Upper and Lower Al Kafr are not simple settings but psychological stages.

The harsh landscapes reflect the brutality of people who have sanctified violence until it becomes part of their identity. From this journey emerges Zaid’s new self, fatherless, disillusioned and more aware of the truths of the world.

The circular structure plays a crucial role in this understanding. The narrative begins at the end and then returns to the beginning, mimicking the human mind’s attempt to make sense of trauma by looking back to the moment when everything began to unravel.

This technique allows readers to experience events as the child himself did: fragmented, overlapping, and full of unresolved questions.

(The End of an Angry Man) is a significant contribution to the Yemeni narrative and to modern Arabic literature as a whole. It is a work worthy of recognition.

Bassam Shams Al-Deen succeeded in presenting a novel that reflects continuous effort, accumulated consciousness and the fruit of a long journey towards precision and distinction.

Yemen