Velvet (novel)

Hawwa is the protagonist of the novel. She is a forty-something dreamy woman who is in a tireless pursuit of love that seems to be unattainable. It is worth mentioning that the name "Hawwa" is the Arabic equivalent of "Eve", which obviously holds a lot of symbolism.[15][16][17]

Qamar is a seamstress with both a vague history and her own tragic love story. She is Hawwa's mentor, adviser, and role model.[17]

Musa is Hawwa's father. He is an abusive construction worker who beats his wife, molests his own daughters, and casts fear in the hearts of all family members.[16]

Rab'a is Hawwa's mother. She was forced to marry Musa, who constantly inflicts serious physical and emotional injuries on her. Rab'a is portrayed as a helpless wife who suffers from an emotional drought.[16]

Nayfeh is Hawwa's paternal grandmother. From the outside, she is depicted as a tough, angry, discontented woman; yet from the inside, she is crushed. Nayfeh is the one who orchestrates the arranged marriage between Hawwa and Nathmi.[16] 

Nathmi is Hawwa's undesired husband. He is a younger, but equally cruel, version of her abusive father.[17]

Lutfi is Hawwa's elder brother. He keeps himself isolated from his family's issues and lives in a world of his own, indifferent to the tribulations surrounding him.[18]

Ayed is Hawwa's younger brother. He also gets his own share of beating from his ruthless dad, Musa, especially in the mornings when Ayed's bed is found wet due to his nocturnal enuresis.[17]

Qays is Hawwa's son, who grows up to possess a similar character of his father (Nathmi).[19]

Ayah is Hawwa's daughter. She and her mother have some things common: Both have been physically and emotionally abused by their fathers, and both have demonstrated a lack of emotions toward their mothers.[17] 

Muneer is Hawwa's lover who becomes the soon-to-be second husband after she divorces Nathmi.[19]

Shortly after it was published, the novel was critically acclaimed in a review posted by Al-Jazeera's website. The review acknowledges Huzama Habayeb as "one of the most prominent novelists in the Arabic narrative scene."[21] Al-Hayat newspaper commended Habayeb's writing style and deemed "Velvet" an "added value to the Palestinian novels, in particular, as well as the Arabic novels in general."[19] 

Huzama Habayeb receives the 2017 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature at the AUC from Francis J. Ricciardone Jr.

On 11 December 2017, Huzama Habayeb's "Velvet" won Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature. The award — which was handed to Habayeb by Francis J. Ricciardone Jr., the president of the American University in Cairo (AUC) — includes a silver medal, cash prize, and a publication of an English translation of the novel.[22][23][24]

The award committee hailed "Velvet" as a "new kind of Palestinian novel" that concentrates on the marginalized common Palestinians in diaspora and avoids the pretentious display of spurious patriotic themes revolving around the political struggle. The novel was also commended for its "poetic prose and skillful deployment of vocabulary choice."[25][26][27] Shereen Abouelnaga, a professor of English literature at the AUC and a member in the award committee, said "The author of 'Velvet' has managed to create a parallel world for the reader to perceive the harsh and arid life in the camp."[28]

Authors and publishers are the ones who usually submit nominations to the AUC to be considered for Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature.[30] However, the award committee itself may select a novel even if it was not nominated by any authors, publishers, or anyone; and that was the case in 2017 — neither Huzama Habayeb nor her publisher nominated "Velvet" for the medal; the members of the award committee were the ones who selected the novel directly, which was a "big surprise" to Habayeb, as she said in an interview with MBC.net website — a surprise that "reiterated a principle" in which she had always believed: "Innovative writing that is characterized by genuineness and makes a difference is capable eventually to impose itself and have its say."[31]