Abd al-Hadi al-Madadha's novel Darat Balqis traces the deep dramatic transformations sweeping through the Amman landscape and its heritage identity, highlighting the eternal tension between the enchantment of intimate memory and the cold ambitions of real estate development. The author takes readers on a journey through the details of daily life in the historic Jabal al-Weibdeh, specifically the "Jihan 4" building on Sharia College Street, skillfully weaving the fates of his characters together with the movement of the stars and zodiac signs within the astrological dome and its four pillars, reflecting through this lens the fluctuations of the human psyche and feelings of helplessness in the face of life's hardships and the harshness of change.
اضافة اعلان
Published by "Al-Aan Publishers and Distributors" in 135 medium-format pages, the novel falls within the genre of philosophical social fiction that draws on mythical astrology to deconstruct reality. It sheds light on interconnected human stories among neighbors who share the place and its memories, such as Mrs. Alice Barakat, passionate about astrology, and her childhood friend Dr. Suad al-Sabban, who falls victim to a real estate scheme orchestrated by an opportunistic broker aiming to demolish her heritage home — making the book a literary outcry in defense of the authenticity of old neighborhoods against the encroachment of modern concrete.
The novel, whose cover was designed by "Eid Banat," opens with a striking mythical prelude drawn from Arab astrological heritage, telling the story of a man treacherously killed in distant markets, taking the reader on an eternal journey of pursuit and vengeance against the killer "Suhail," who fled toward the southern sky. From this vast nebulous space, al-Madadha descends smoothly into a highly realistic and precise Amman geography, guiding the reader through Sharia College Street, Terra Santa College, Paris Square, and Luzmila Hospital, presenting details of the heroine's medical studies in Cairo, and revisiting tragic historical and regional events that left scars on the characters' consciousness and psyches.
From the Atmosphere of the Novel
To bring the reader closer to the psychological and philosophical mood dominating the novel, we include this passage reflecting the philosophy and inner musings of its heroine, Mrs. Alice Barakat, on life's fluctuations, touching on how desires multiply, vary, and sometimes contradict one another, likening life to a battlefield between competing desires, and how many things unfold in our lives without scrutiny, becoming habit-like beliefs we act upon without seeking rational proof of their benefit or harm, and how we find joy in our capacity to influence the world around us, sometimes turning to astrology in pursuit of joy or in flight from a sadness rooted in feelings of powerlessness.
It's worth noting that Abd al-Hadi al-Madadha is a Jordanian writer born in 1955, holding a bachelor's degree in pharmacy. His previous works include: The Fortune Teller Told Me, short stories (2015); On the Embers of Ghada: A Reading in the History of Jordanian Governments, a political study (2016); Margins of the Red Carpet, a novel (2018); Karak Moab: Letters of the City, a novel (2021); Guardian, a novel (2022); and The City's Tremor, a novel (2026).
