Khaberni - Egyptian writer and media figure Ibrahim Issa surprised cultural circles by announcing he had finished writing his latest novel which tackles the life story of artist Amr Diab and is titled "Amr.. Where There Alone" and is expected to be published soon.
Although the work has not been released yet, Issa faced numerous criticisms from writers, critics, and social media users who expressed their astonishment at this choice, which in their opinion ignores "other models more deserving".
The critics said, "The art scene is filled with other inspiring human and professional models throughout history, such as the Musician of the Generations Mohamed Abdel Wahab, the Dean of Arabic Theatre Youssef Bek Wahby, and the Monster of the Screen Farid Shawqi".
Some considered that "the title of the novel suggests a glorification of the person Amr and his experience, while good literary texts avoid aggrandizement and tend to dramatize the character, highlighting its flaws, shortcomings, and human weakness".
Fears of "praise and glorification" increased with the author's announcement that "the project began as a series idea, but Amr suggested starting with a literary novel inspired by the successes he achieved in his life journey, then using the novel as a basis for a subsequent television work."
Many reserved opinion on Ibrahim Issa's assertion that he "recorded more than 16 hours of conversations with Amr Diab, in which he spoke about his upbringing, career, and artistic life", considering that "such introductions predict a work aimed at celebrating and praising rather than critiquing or questioning, which may suit the media but contradicts the nature of literature," they said.
The criticisms also focused on the fact that "Amr Diab is still alive and has much more to offer in terms of his legitimate future aspirations, and thus it would have been better to wait for his experience to be fully realized so it could be judged and evaluated in a final and objective manner."
