''Chewing Gum'' is the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

Libyan Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the United Nations Demographic Yearbooks ...

writer Mansour Bushnaf, first published in Arabic 2008 in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. It was banned by the

Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his assassination by Libyan rebel forces in 2011. He came to power ...

regime in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. It was first published in English in 2014 by DARF Publishers with a translation by Mona Zaki.

Plot summary

The novel centres around Mukhtar, whose father, Omar Efendi, was in the Royal Police Force, and his mother, Rahma, was from a Turco-Libyan family; Mukhtar stands frozen for ten years like a statue in the middle of public park in Libyan capital Tripoli after he was abandoned by his lover, the young and promiscuous Fatma. While the country is gripped with a chewing gum craze, different Libyan professors that just came from their studies abroad try to rediscover the country and suggest different theories to explain a society gripped with chewing gum and

consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...

Characters

*''Mukhtar'' - The Hero *''Fatma'' - The Heroine *''Omar Effendi'' - Mukhtar's Father *''Ghouiliya'' - A Prostitute *''Rahma'' - MuKhtar's Mother *''Uthman'' - Rahma's Friend

Reviews

Winstonsdad's Review of Mansour Bushanf's Chewing Gum
Winstonsdad's Blog, May 19, 2014

Bookshy An African Book Lover blog, July 3, 2014
Nahla Ink Review of Mansour Bushnaf's Chewing Gum
Nahla Ink Blog, July 15, 2014
Ramblings of an Elfpire Review of Chewing Gum By Mansour Bushnaf
Ramblings of an Elfpire, September 30, 2014

By the Book Reviews, November 1, 2014

External links

Mansour Bushnaf on 'killing books' in Libya
(interview), BBC News Africa, April 15, 2014 2014 novels Libyan novels Novels set in Libya 2008 novels 2008 debut novels {{Africa-novel-stub