The Thief and the Dogs

Said Mahran is a man motivated only by revenge. A former career criminal who was sentenced to years behind bars, prison has stripped away all the other facets of his personality. His paranoia and his delusion feed into his desire for revenge and allow Said to convince himself that he is a force for good in society, despite no tangible evidence that this is the case. Said is not just the protagonist of the novel; he sees himself as the protagonist of existence, relating to others only as supporting roles in his own story. This narcissism increases his desire for revenge. To Said, vengeance against the people who betrayed him is the only thing which matters in the world. This focus on revenge both drives Said forward through the narrative and eventually becomes his undoing. Because he cannot envisage a world without revenge, Said ignores the help others try to give him and the different options they present. He is shot by the police after burning through every relationship and alienating himself from anyone who tries to help him.

Said's plight is an existentialist plight. He spends the novel searching for meaning in life and he settles on revenge as a justification for existence.