French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Hallaq: Gibran and the Renewal of Arabic Literature. Bildungsroman, Prophetic Writing, Transgeneric Approach
Francophone and Oral Literatures
Boutros Hallaq, Gibran et la refondation littéraire arabe. Bildungsroman, écriture prophétique, transgénérisme
Arles: Actes Sud, coll. "Sindbad", 2008, 554 p.
- ISBN-10: 2742773673
- ISBN-13: 978-2742773671
- 35€
Publisher's Overview
World-renowned for his English-language bestseller The Prophet, Gibran Khalil Gibran remains nonetheless one of the pioneers of modern Arabic literature. His work draws upon the intrinsic resources of classical and popular Arab culture, gradually embracing universal heritage: the Semitic culture of the Bible alongside the ancient civilizations of the Near East; Syriac liturgical and Quranic poetry; the legacy of the European Renaissance and the Enlightenment; and Far Eastern philosophy. This study highlights the three major trends in Gibran's writing: the *Bildungsroman* (coming-of-age novel), representing the early emergence of the European novelistic genre, which roots all personal and collective construction in the centrality of the individual; prophetic writing, inherited from 19th-century European romantic poetry and enriched by a broadly secularized biblical dynamic; and finally, the transgeneric approach—common to both biblical writing and *adab* (classical Arabic literary prose)—which integrates various traditional and modern genres into a unified movement. Through Gibran's Arabic oeuvre, Boutros Hallaq sheds light on the values that have inspired generations of Arab intellectuals, most notably the centrality of the individual over all political and religious institutions.
Author Biography
Boutros Hallaq, born in 1944 in Yabroud (Syria), holds a State Doctorate in Arts and Humanities and the *agrégation* in Arabic. He is currently a Professor of Modern Arabic Literature at the University of Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris-III, where he also directs the Center for Arab Studies. His publications include: Histoire de littérature arabe moderne 1800-1945, Actes Sud, 2007 (Volume I co-authored with Heidi Toelle); La Poétique de l'espace dans la littérature arabe moderne, Presses de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, 2002 (with Robin Ostie and Stefan Wild); Lumières sur Saïda, Desclée de Brouwer, 1994 (with Georges Baguet and Michel Fondo); La Question nationale à l'orée du XXIe siècle, Dar Anahar, Beirut, 1998; and Parler arabe en quarante leçons, Univers Poche, expanded new edition, 1992.
Modern Arabic literature developed through a complex interplay between indigenous heritage and external intellectual currents, engaging both classical traditions and European models during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Writers and scholars in this field frequently examine how authors negotiate the boundaries between traditional forms and emerging literary genres, drawing on sources ranging from Quranic poetry to Enlightenment philosophy. This critical tradition often emphasizes the evolution of narrative structures and the adaptation of romantic and prophetic modes within a changing cultural landscape, reflecting broader shifts in aesthetic values and intellectual concerns across the region.
Readers interested in the evolution of modern Arabic literature and the intellectual currents shaping Near Eastern cultural history may find this study relevant. Boutros Hallaq examines Gibran Khalil Gibran through the framework of the Bildungsroman, prophetic writing, and a transgeneric approach that integrates classical and modern forms. The volume highlights how Gibran draws upon classical and popular Arab culture, the Semitic heritage of the Bible, European romantic poetry, and Far Eastern philosophy, shedding light on the values that have inspired generations of Arab intellectuals.