The Marvelous in the Stories of Abdul-Amir Al-Majar

The phenomenon of the marvelous extends deeply into literary heritage since ancient times, taking on various forms until it settled into its current shape in the modern era. A close observer of this phenomenon will find that it has expanded to include many aspects of human knowledge and life. What concerns us here is its presence within the literary space. What has further elevated its importance is the interaction of the Arab reader with it, as it resonates with their inner experiences. The surprising events that a person encounters daily, which evoke astonishment and wonder, are the very same feelings they seek when reading a literary text—expecting it to amaze and astonish them.

Iraqi literary production is among the most notable in the Arab world in its engagement with the marvelous, due to the extraordinary and unfamiliar events Iraq has endured, placing the writer in a highly surreal reality that is reflected in their work. This study focuses on Iraqi short story writing—a uniquely distinguished body of work in the Arab literary landscape—specifically on the experience of the writer Abdul-Amir Al-Majar, who has devoted himself to this genre. We found that the marvelous constitutes a prominent phenomenon in his short stories. This study is structured into an introduction, a prelude, two main sections, and a conclusion summarizing the key findings.