Velvet () is an Arabic language novel by Palestinian author Huzama Habayeb published in 2016. The book won the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature in 2017. The novel depicts several Palestinian women experiencing tragic love stories under the compelling circumstances and within the ultraconservative community of Baqa'a refugee camp in Jordan.
The original title "مُخْمَل", which in English means "Velvet", is the all-time favorite kind of fabric to Qamar, a widowed lonely tailoress and one of the main female characters in the novel. The female protagonist of the novel, whose name is Hawwa, meets Qamar and becomes a protégé of hers. In addition to tailoring, Hawwa learns a lot about life from Qamar; and along the way, the love of velvet is passed on by the mentor to the apprentice.
Unlike most other Arabic novels with content closely or remotely related to Palestine, "Velvet" is almost bereft of any political or patriotic themes pertaining to the Palestinian issue; it rather employs the narrative to portray the utterly humane dimensions of common Palestinians — particularly the women — with little or no attention to politics. Rasheed El Enani, one of the members of the committee that awarded the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature in 2017, described the novel by saying, "It is not about the political cause, the resistance, the dream of return. It is rather about ordinary Palestinians whose lives go on meanwhile, unnoticed and unrecorded, in the background, while the high dramas of politics occupy center-stage."
Conception and writing
Although "Velvet" is entirely fictional, the setting is inspired by Huzama Habayeb's own upbringing and familiarity with the Palestinians' status quo within Jordan, as well as the fact that she is a descendant of a refugee family and has friends and acquaintances who live in Baq'a refugee camp, the place where most of the novel's events occur, as she stated in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. Her father, along with other paternal relatives, was also among the Palestinians who were displaced in 1948 and settled in Zarqa refugee camp in Jordan. In the acceptance speech she delivered on 11 December 2017 at the American University in Cairo (AUC) when she received the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for "Velvet", Huzama Habayeb tearfully evoked her father's displacement experience at the end of her address.
As for the duration Habayeb spent on writing the novel and conducting the needed research, it was around two and a half years, as she stated in an interview on Al-Ghad TV. Habayeb also said — during the same aforementioned interview — that she purchased huge amounts of fabric, perused the history of fabrics and textiles, learned sewing and tailoring, and conducted interviews with seamstresses just to provide the readers with a plausible tailoring-related content. In the last 8 months of the process, Habayeb wrote every day for 12 hours.
Main characters
Hawwa
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.
Qamar
Qamar is a seamstress with both a vague history and her own tragic love story. She is Hawwa's mentor, adviser, and role model.
Musa
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.
Rab'a
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.
Nayfeh
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.
Nathmi
Nathmi is Hawwa's undesired husband. He is a younger, but equally cruel, version of her abusive father.
Lutfi
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.
Ayed
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.
Qays
Qays is Hawwa's son, who grows up to possess a similar character of his father (Nathmi).