In this microcosm, social exclusions and real psychiatric patients meet, in a climate of fatalism. Nothing is reassuring in El-Razi despite the beauty of the paths lined with olive trees and palm trees and the abandoned green spaces. Despite the tutelary figure of the great Persian scholar who made important contributions to medicine, alchemy and philosophy. Some patients roam around freely and the others are locked in the wards with locks.
The presence of mythical and literary figures (Nietzsche, Bukowski) creates a hallucinatory dimension, blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction. The narrator has the unfortunate tendency to personify his patients: “It was Friedrich Nietzsche rid of his crazy mustaches.,” he said of one of them. There is also Dante from hell who always appears unexpectedly like the devil: «Dante Alighieri appeared behind the desk, dusted off his long pelisse, then left the room dragging his wooden clogs, an evil smile on his lips.
Derision and absurdity
Or Dostoyevsky with his roulettes, in shadow and light at the same time, an absurd and burlesque tone amplifying the alienation of the protagonist: “Dostoyevsky hidden, standing, behind the curtain of the open window. Half of his face was sticking out and he was laughing slyly, one hand over his mouth, his beard quivering.»
The Arab poet Abu-l-Ala Al-Maari is also an eloquent host in the El-Razi asylum. He lives in a cupboard of books and philosophical files: “This time there was no sound. I rushed to the cupboard and opened it to find Al-Maari, a frail body, sitting cross-legged among the papers and files. -Come on! Get out. (…) Al-Maari jumped out of the closet and headed for the door. He got his feet caught in his burnous and I thought he was going to crash to the ground. I approached to catch up with him, but he pushed me away, addressing me with two mean and cryptic verses, then left the office, slamming the door.»
Finally there is the character of the green man who thinks he is rich, although he is “shockingly poor», and other characters to discover, literary psychiatric cases, in this epic story by Aymen Daboussi.
Institutional violence and powerlessness
Physical and symbolic violence inflicted on patients by hospital staff is a recurring theme. The narrator witnesses, helplessly, the abuses which he denounces, but seems incapable of stopping: “Don’t worry, doctor. We know what we’re doing. We know where to strike and how», a chilling sentence hammered at him by the nurses, a trivialization of brutality and implicit complicity within the institution. The author paints a disillusioned portrait of health professionals, themselves exhausted, disillusioned and trapped in a dysfunctional system. For this depressed young man who tried to escape, caning is in order: “They pushed the young fugitive in front of them, hitting him on the head and back.» This scene denounces the abuse of power and dehumanization in Tunisian mental health institutions.
Spitting, among the residents, becomes an act of revolt and a visceral reaction to oppression: “A single spit coming from the depths of the heart can dispense with many hours of palaver.” A critique of modern psychiatry emerges, reduced to a chemical management of disorders: “Before the invention of neuroleptics, psychiatry was almost nothing. After the invention of neuroleptics, psychiatry became even less than nothing.” The hospital becomes a caricature of itself, where humans are reduced to chemically treated objects.
The portrait of Ali Ben Aziza, a former broken boss, explores the fragility of marginalized beings, oscillating between violence, humiliation and survival. The drug, Parkizol, becomes a metaphor for a simulacrum of life and dignity. Ali fights to maintain the illusion of strength and control, even if it involves self-harm and submission to the medical system: “Don’t fucking deprive me of Parkizol. Leave us what makes life bearable“, he admits. The story depicts a world where drugs serve as a tool of social control, annihilating the vitality of the marginalized. The line between treatment and oppression becomes gray.
Sexuality and repressed impulses
Among the characters, sexuality appears as an uncontrollable outlet, in the face of emotional intensity and social pressure. «I’m a virgin… but that never stopped me from enjoying sex», said a patient. And another: “I’m gripped by a dark lust“. What follows is a sadomasochistic story involving an insane couple. Behind this metaphor, the novel explores the relationships between the suffering of the sick and their forever unregulated desire.
The themes of sexual addiction and mental alienation are addressed through the portrait of a young man trapped by his compulsions. The author provides a clinical and almost documentary account of the deviant behavior of the character, who seems incapable of living within social norms: “He spots a young girl in the street, with a bubble butt, and follows her while jerking off.» This pathetic image exposes the character’s degree of alienation. The text pushes the reader to question the limits between mental illness and immorality. The patient embodies a form of hypersexualization which cuts him off from the world and locks him in an obsessive cycle.
The resurgence of Fanon: a revolutionary ghost
The return of Franz Fanon, a character from El-Razi hospital, a Zendj figure, mysterious and mythical, evokes an almost supernatural resurrection. This literary choice projects the idea that revolutionary struggles and opposition figures never truly die, but are reborn to challenge oppressive structures. “El-Razi’s notebooks” subversive? Yes. No doubt.
It is a subtle call to wake up Tunisian society. A dry denunciation of the current dictatorship and its dysfunctions. Fanon is depicted as a tragic and mocking hero, aware of the limits of his fight, but driven by an inextinguishable rage. He is the hope of the psychiatric asylum: “It was only three days later that I saw this elegant black man again. I was interviewing a patient when he walked past the window again. This time, he didn’t have a hat, he turned towards me, revealing the whole of his recognizable face. There was no doubt, it was Frantz Fanon in the flesh, and the scar on his cheek confirmed it (…) Frantz Fanon was standing in the shade of a large orange tree. I assure you he was there, hands in his pockets, a twig and a smile at the corner of his mouth.»
An innovative Arabic style and a dialogue with the West
Born in 1982 in Tunis, Aymen Daboussi is a clinical psychologist and writer. He worked for almost six years at the El-Razi psychiatric hospital, which inspired him in the composition of his astonishing and endearing characters. This 211-page novel deeply questions the boundary between madness and normality, while denouncing the inhumanity of structures supposed to protect the most vulnerable. In parallel with his clinical practice, he distinguished himself in the literary field. He is the author of two collections of short stories praised for their psychological depth and incisive style, as well as a novel exploring the complexities of the human soul.
“The notebooks of El-Razi”, by Aymen Daboussi, 211 pages. Éditions Philippe Rey, Foreign Novel Collection, 2024. Translated from Arabic by Lotfi Nia. Public price: 182 DH.
