A time of conflict and turmoil, these uprisings sought to overthrow a state-controlled economy, calling for democratisation and fair elections. These dreams were realised when the Jasmine revolution broke out the subsequent series of protests across the Middle East would come to be known as the Arab Spring. Shocking! School girl dies after mobile phone explodes in her hand 'Despite global headwinds, India has been globally seen as the vibrant spot of development': PM Modi in Kerala “But they are suppressed and their dreams are restlessly sleeping.” “But I gradually understood,” he notes, “all of them are not satisfied.” Many have political visions and democratic ambitions. Upon first setting foot in the Arab country, he wondered how people could live peacefully under an autocratic regime and not raise their voices against the oppression. Originally from Kerala, the author lived and worked in the Kingdom of Bahrain for two decades. Pratap’s first stop is the City, filled with people who have survived the Jasmine revolution, living in the shadow of a dominant power, with spies and officials lurking in every corner of the street. The sequel took shape only when he realised that he was in fact telling two stories: one, of the incidents that occurred during the revolution, and two, of events that transpired following the uprising.Īl Arabian Novel Factory begins with the story of Pratap, an investigative journalist from Toronto who is sent on an assignment that involves travelling to several countries and researching for an author putting together a new book.

He recalls having planned one novel to narrate the events of the uprising against an autocratic system. His latest novel, a sequel to his JCB Prize-winning book Jasmine Days, explores the lives of people in a fictional Middle Eastern city, in the aftermath of a failed revolution.

So I thought I must write about it,” says Benyamin. “This is not the story of a single nation.

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