A review by Najat El Chalouhi, for Aleph Lam, April 15th, 2025

Najwa Barakat understands the importance of narrative space and its influence in drawing readers into the world of a novel. This is clearly emphasized in her new novel May Vanishes, recently published by Dar Al-Adab.

The events of the novel unfold in a confined space: the house of Mrs. May. The house (the spatial realm) embodies values of familiarity, stability, and safety, offering a sense of reassurance and comfort. The home is one of the most significant places in a person’s life; it is a shelter, a station for memories and dreams. The house also plays a vital role in reflecting May’s attachment to family, as she lost her mother as a child and was deprived of her warmth and compassion. In the house, she feels protected.

Daydreams

Bachelard argues that the house “is the place where we have engaged in daydreams and where our imagination was formed, and without it, a person becomes a fragmented being.” Barakat transforms the element of place into a tool to express the emotions, mood swings, and psychological and behavioral fluctuations within May.

The events take place between Mrs. May’s kitchen and the balcony of her home, allowing us to smell the coffee, gradually drawing closer to ensure the living room is empty of the stranger who has intruded upon May’s solitude. Then we join her on the balcony to check the plant pots.

May has not left her apartment on the ninth floor except for urgent matters, such as visiting her doctor, whom her twin children entrusted with her care, or to inspect the damage caused by the explosion of the Port of Beirut. There’s also the visit to the veterinarian’s clinic, where she learns of her cat’s serious illness.

The description flows elegantly, free from pretension, utilizing the five senses, which Barakat uses artistically to captivate the reader with passion and excitement, preventing any boredom.

Bachelard also states, “Every book should be reread once it’s finished. After the first schematic reading comes the creative reading.” May Vanishes requires more than one reading to build connections and relationships with the characters and the settings.

The Spatial Novel

This novel can be classified as a spatial novel, as space is dominant and plays a significant role in guiding and stirring May’s emotions. There is a connection between May’s character and the place: “The seasons change outside, wars erupt, electricity fails, the city explodes… but here, in my elevated island, no climate shifts, no worsening of conditions, no explosions, no unrest. Here, in this interior that belongs to me, there must be stability, normality, and order.” (p. 46)

Within this spatial realm, May’s memory shifts between a happy childhood, despite losing her mother. Her father cared for her and refused to remarry or entrust her care to her mother or sisters.

A Talented Girl

May is a talented girl. As a child, she would stand in front of a mirror and imagine performing acting roles brilliantly. When she grew older, she applied to the Faculty of Arts and ranked first. During her university years, she met a young man who offered her the lead role in a play he claimed to have written. She later discovered that he was lying; he hadn’t written any play, nor had he secured any funding. Despite knowing this, she fell in love with him. She began writing the play and attributing its authorship to him, even leaving her parental home to live with him in a chalet by the sea. She wrote and performed plays, working day and night, giving him the money she earned so he could drink and gamble. When she asked him, “When will we get married?” he would evade the question, never giving a clear answer about their future. When he lost all their money in gambling, he offered her to his friends. This was the slap that woke her from her slumber and pushed her to gather her clothes and leave the chalet.

May returns to her home, her writing, and acting, trying to erase him from her memory. But he returns, claiming to have changed into a different person. Has he really changed? Will May trust him, considering she has never truly removed him from her heart, nor has he left her thoughts?

The answer lies hidden within May Vanishes…