الدقلة في عراجينها

Set in the palm-grove oases of the Jerid, in the deep south of French-colonial Tunisia, this novel is one of the acknowledged classics of the modern Tunisian and Arabic novel.

Through the lives of ordinary date farmers and laborers, Bechir Khraief paints a richly detailed portrait of rural southern society — its tribal hierarchies, its disputes over land and water, its customs, and its harsh working conditions under colonial rule — braided together with a story of love and social struggle.

Written in a distinctive language that fuses classical Arabic with the living rhythms of Tunisian dialect, the novel is celebrated for its earthy realism and its deep rootedness in local life, and is frequently ranked among the hundred greatest Arabic novels.