The Circular Narrative Structure in the Novel The End of an Angry Man by Bassam Shams Al Deen

Yemenat

Mohammed Al–Mekhlafi

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

This novel follows (The Prophecy of the Elders) which some readers believed attacked the Republican era. However, its true aim was to portray the fear and injustice experienced by peasants under the authority of feudal lords during the monarchical era, while also hinting at the chaos and corruption that later emerged in the Republican age. 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, the belief among some jurists in racial superiority, and the extremist ideologies that arise from these beliefs. The novel continues his ongoing project of deconstructing social and intellectual problems as they are, without flattery or equivocation.

Shams Al-Deen emphasizes that his writing does not align with any social or political doctrine and that he stands with ordinary people who are crushed by circumstances. This is his own statement, not an interpretation by others.

From the very first page, the novel moves from the end toward the beginning, as though built on an exhausted memory trying to retrieve the past in order to understand the present.

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

I was captivated by the voice of the narrator, the twelve-year-old child (Zaid). Narrating through a child’s perspective lends the novel special sensitivity, but it also