Book Review

Book Review: A Matter of Time (مسألة وقت) by Montasser El Qafash: The winner of the 2009 Sawares Award for Best Work of Literature, A Matter of Time is a novel that is hard to review. It has an intriguing premise: a young man, who works as a part-time tutor to university students, has a one-night stand with one of his students, only to discover a little while later that she had died three hours before coming to his apartment and sleeping with him. Baffled, the young man, who feels he is just coasting through life, starts an investigation into the young woman's past, which leads him to a friend of hers, a young woman named Nahed, who claims to have also been visited by the young woman's apparition.

Author Montasser El Qafash uses this central plot-line more or less as a McGuffin to delve deeper into his characters' lives and psyches. And herein lies the problem. His characters are pretty aimless, which I understand is intentional, since the whole novella seems to be a study of what happens to regular people, leading ordinary, mundane lives, when they are confronted by something that challenges their sense of reality. But aimless characters leading aimless lives don't make for a very gripping read. Which is not to say that this novel is bad. Far from it. It's atmospheric, stylishly written, and has a fascinating premise. But one can't help but feel that it would have made a great short story. As a novel, even a short one, it seems overlong and, ultimately, underwhelming.

Book Review

Book Review: Solo Piano Music (عزف منفرد على البيانو) by Fawaz Haddad: This masterful psychological thriller is like no other Arabic book I've ever come across. It combines aspects of the spy genre, the Jamesian Psychological drama, with thought-provoking existentialism, to produce a fine, ambitious thriller.

The plot - revolving around a secular Syrian writer and government official who, after getting attacked and beaten by a mysterious figure and becoming a sort of a celebrity, is entangled in a complex plot involving negotiations between the Syrian Government and Extremist Islamists - is layered, and at times dizzyingly complex. But author Fawaz Haddad's grasp of his characters, especially the protagonist, Fateh, that makes the reader want to tag along for this long and complicated journey. And a journey it is. Featuring a myriad of complex characters, shadowy goings-on, flashbacks and political intrigue, this isn't the easiest of reads. But Haddad's smooth prose, meticulous plotting, a fascinating supporting character (Selim, the enigmatic counter-terrorism agent), and a hell of a twist ending, all combine to make this a thriller worth spending some time and energy with. Highly Recommended.

Book Review

Book Review: Cat's Eyes (عين القط) by Hassan Abd El Maugoud: I stumbled upon this stylish little novella when I was browsing the Contemporary Arabic Fiction section in one of my favorite bookstores, and, I hate to admit, was attracted by its cover. I read the synopsis on the backcover and bought it on a whim. It was a good decision.

The novella tells the tale of a young boy - referred to throughout the novella only as Qot or Cat - living in a village in Upper Egypt with his conservative family, and who believes he can Astral-Project every night and inhabit the body of any stray cat. This allows him to prowl the village at night, sneak into houses undetected, and learn the village inhabitant's darkest secrets. Author Hassan Abd El Maugoud uses this intriguing premise as a launching pad for clever socio-political commentary, painting a not very pretty picture of living in a village in Egypt, which stands in for Egypt itself; a place which, as depicted in the story, is rife with corruption, bullies, unscrupulous politicians and sexual repression.

Although at times the pace becomes annoyingly frenetic, this short novella is filled to the brim with ideas and memorable characters, and the author's smooth, unpretentious style is addictive. A compelling, stylish read.

P.S. This novella has won the Saweris Award (2nd place) for outstanding first novel.