How Long to Read Arrival

How Long Does it Take to Read Arrival?

It takes the average reader to read Arrival by Hichem Karoui

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

Arrival is the first instalment in a serialised 7 segment novel, describing a country struggling with its demons. The autocratic regime takes several facades and different denominations to survive. And so do the characters of this story. A jailed bank clerk, a journalist, a drug dealer, Islamist radicals, and others representing different levels of society, interact and fight, like the country. It is the story of two successive military coups in an Arab country. The first is accomplished by a republican secularist junta and the second by Islamists.The narrator, Bassam Bourasin, an eccentric and zealous bank clerk, decides to write down a top-secret report, to protest against his incarceration by the new regime. His purpose is to clean up himself from the heavy charges he was facing and prove that he was well devoted to the new masters of the country. As the narrative develops, he unveils many details about his life in his village, 'Ouja, and his new condition in jail. Thus, he tells the reader about his obsessions and secret ambitions, his old mother living in the past with the British settlers, his fiancee Dalila whose hugging or kissing is forbidden to him by social traditions, and his secret archives where he had managed to record for the posterity many details concerning life and people of 'Ouja. That entire world collapsed when a coup overthrew the King, and the big purge started. What happened to him and his boss, Mr. Aroussi, was all the more painful that the man for whom he was working as a snitch, the mighty chief of the party's cell, Hamda La'war, was still free. The latter was considered a national hero in the country, since he was awarded the Order of High Merit from the former king, for cuckolding the village's shoemaker and getting an eye punctured in the brawl. To obtain the same medal, Bassam was ready to do anything, even if he had to convince the new masters of the country of a conspiracy against the security of the state being concocted by the cooks of the prison and their occult allies. That is the second purpose of his top-secret report, which he intends to submit to the authorities. But out of the blue, a second coup led by the Islamists happened; a mutiny burst out in the prison and Bassam is forced to readjust his views in order to be in the "right" direction of the wind. Henceforth, he decides to devote himself to the Islamist cause and tries to be the benevolent "historian" of the Islamist "revolution." Taken between the anvil and the hammer and fearing for his life, he endeavours to prove that he had always supported the Islamists since he had discovered the plot of the cooks. He does not mind if some of his new "friends" are members of the Mafia or trained terrorists. His dream is to be always useful, and his ambition is to be like his hero, John Law, a great brain of the finances. It is an acquaintance from prison who will help him make his dream true. Hassan, an opportunist journalist, will be propelled to the front scene by the new regime. The powerful Director of State Security will make a deal with Bassam. He will release him, make of him a rich businessman and offer him to marry his sister Sophia. Actually, he will use him as a screen in some not very orthodox deals. Somehow unaware, Bassam will be transformed into a merchant of weapons and, occasionally, a constructor and share-holder in an important bank. Meanwhile, the civil war burst out. The country is divided. Some people are with the new regime; some others will side with "The Scoundrel" - i.e. the former president who had taken refuge in the oil-rich desert. An odious massacre is perpetrated in 'Ouja. The Islamists and their rivals charge each other of the slaughter. Bassam is caught in a dilemma. He suspects Hassan of being the instigator of the massacre in which his mother and former fiancee were killed. Then who is Hassan? Who is Bassam? Are they not the obverse and the reverse of the same coin?

How long is Arrival?

Arrival by Hichem Karoui is 0 pages long, and a total of 0 words.

This makes it 0% the length of the average book. It also has 0% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Arrival Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes to read Arrival aloud.

What Reading Level is Arrival?

Arrival is suitable for students ages 2 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Arrival?

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