Here it is, folks, the best Arabic books of 2010.
My Journey: The Private Memoirs of Mohamed Abdel Wahab (رحلتى: الأوراق الخاصة جدا) edited by Farouk Goweida:Egyptian composer Mohamed Abdel Wahab has always been a controversial and enigmatic figure. He has been described as an obsessive-compulsive, hypochondriac perfectionist, as well as a radical (and sometimes even a "criminal"), mainly because of his penchant for "westernizing" Arabic music. He was the first Arabic composer to incorporate "Western" String instruments into his arrangements, and he was the first to introduce Rock'n'Roll rhythms into Arabic compositions. His detractors loathed him, and his fans (all around the world) adored him. To this day, he is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century, for bringing Classical Arabic Music to the attention of the world, and because of his internationalist views.
My Journey: The Private Memoirs, gives Art Buffs, musicologists, Abdel Wahab's fans, and even his detractors a chance to know his "true" opinions, and, most importantly, to really get to know the man behind some of the most important musical achievements of the past century.
Abdel Wahab, in his own words, comes off as a complicated, obsessive man, whose only true love in life was his music, which, throughout the book, he calls his "mistress." He comes off as an intelligent, progressive thinker (for the most part, anyway), whose opinions - which, for the most part, he kept to himself - range from logical to shocking. His opinion of women, for example, is sure to ruffle the feathers of feminists, and his political leanings are sure to surprise many (he calls Nasser a deceitful liar who duped the Egyptian public). But, again and again, his love and respect for his art form is the thing that truly shines through. And his undying desire to modernize Arabic music and to merge it with the European principles of "harmony" and "melody," show him to be a true genius, whose passion for music is genuine and contagious. Some of his comments, especially the ones he wrote in his final years, have proven to be prophetic, as he describes the art scene in Egypt as chaotic, fueled by the need to make money not art. He also scolds both the Egyptian Government and the Egyptian public for letting the country's artistic product decline in quality, as he calls the relationship between the audience and the artist a "symbiotic" one: one can't survive without the other.
Although many of Abdel Wahab's comments and opinions are sure to ruffle some feathers, this is a fascinating read which gives readers a rare glimpse inside the mind of one of Egypt's most important artists and, arguably, its most important musician. A must read.
Next To A Man I Know (بجوار رجل أعرفه) by Mohamed Fathy: The winner of the 2009 Sawares Award for Best Short Story Collection,
Next To A Man I Know by Mohamed Fathy, is one of the most surprising collections of Egyptian short fiction I've come across in a long while, mainly because of author Fathy's unique style of prose and his mastery of storytelling.
This isn't yet another collection of stories by an angry, young Egyptian writer out to scream and yell and protest. That's not to say that Fathy's stories don't touch upon hot-button topics like the rise of the Religious right in Egypt, unemployment, and repressed sexuality. Fathy's stories are sure to rouse some controversy; maybe even a lot of controversy. But Fathy, unlike many of his contemporaries, doesn't take the the easy way out. His stories are, first and foremost, polished, at times meticulously realised, pieces of storytelling, that almost always succeed at being hard-hitting and entertaining. Highlights include the title story, a shocking tale of child abuse, a topic that's rarely touched upon in Egyptian fiction,
Playing with Beshoy, a touching portrayal of friendship, with a disturbing final revelation, the darkly humorous
A Taxi and a Sacred Ride, a story about a man who rides a taxi with what he thinks is a prostitute, only to get much more than he bargained for,
All that's left, a melancholy psychological drama about a regretful young man who works as a mascot at a children's amusement park, and who laments his lost love, and
The Window, a story about masturbation and sexual repression.
This is an unmissable collection of stories by an Egyptian writer who is both daring and subtle, and who (with a few exceptions, like in
Whiteness and
Hussein Whom . . .) almost never relies on histrionics to get his ideas across. And he manages to achieve something that many Egyptian writers seem unable to: Tell a damn good story.
The Effendi (الأفندى) by Mohamed Nagui: On the surface, Mohamed Nagui's
The Effendi looks like another one of those anger-laden books about the corruption eating contemporary Egypt from the inside out. But delve deeper into this wonderfully realized piece of literature, and you discover that this novel offers much more than that. Nagui uses the by now cliched template of the Egyptian young man who snakes his way up using unethical short-cuts and sleight-of-hand, and turns it over its head by writing something closer to a modern fairytale.
The story revolves around Habib-Allah a.k.a The Effendi, an Egyptian young man from a poor family, who after the death of his mother, and realizing that his aging father will not be able to save Habib from a life of poverty, decides to grab any opportunity that comes his way, no matter how shady it is. He starts to deal in US dollars in the Black Market, with the help of a young woman called Nazek, a pathological liar (who believes her mother was a "blessed woman" who spent all her life fighting a person she refers to as "The Fallen", a mythical creature akin to The Devil), and whom, as life goes on, becomes Habib's mistress. From then on, Habib-Allah begins to rise and rise, doing everything from event-organizing for a rich, spoiled young woman from The Gulf, to making deals with embezzlers to buy cheap land and sell it for tons of money, to, finally, becoming a producer of motion pictures, with the help of a pretentious, elitist wanna-be writer called Fayez.
Although Nagui's prose ranges from sublime to serviceable, his storytelling is hypnotic. His characters - many of which are pretty off-kilter - are vividly drawn, and his plotting is good. But it is his grasp of atmosphere and the strangely beautiful mythical interludes about "The Fallen", that make this novel a rich, singular piece of work.
Rich with symbolism and layered with ideas, this thought-provoking, dark novel about hypocrisy, regret, selling your soul for financial gain and social esteem, and people who spend their lives chasing phantoms, deserves to be savored.
* Available from Dar Al-Hilal.
The Palm House (بيت النخيل) by Tarek Eltayeb: I previously reviewed Tarek Eltayeb's first novel,
Cities Without Palms, and found it to be a stylish if cliched piece of work. It was the work of a novice storyteller who despite his surprising mastery of sheer storytelling momentum, didn't have a lot to say, and whose plotting was average at best.
Not here, though. With The
Palm House, which, according to the author, took seven years to complete, Eltayeb proves himself to be one of the most talented storytellers to come out of Egypt and the Arab world.
The novel, which is a sequel to
Cities Without Palms, follows Hamza (the protagonist of
Cities Without Palms) as he struggles to survive in Vienna, his latest home. Working as a newspaper vendor, and with only a cat as a housemate, Hamza's life is dull, oppressive, and lonely. But all that changes when he meets Sandra, a young Viennese woman who, after knowing that he used to live in a village filled with palm trees, reveals to him that there is a museum in Vienna called
The Palm House, which features nothing but real palms. Together, Hamza and Sandra visit
The Palm House and, slowly, begin to fall in love. As their love deepens, Sandra asks Hamza to share his life-story with her. And so Hamza, over the course of three years, tells her his story: His life as a young boy living in a secluded Sudanese village, the death of his family, his pilgrimage to Cairo, his travels around the world, and, finally, his landing in Vienna, looking for sanctuary and a new beginning.
First, let's get this out of the way: This is a melodrama. It is a story filled with tribulations, tragedies, adventures, and triumphs of the human spirit, many of which are far-fetched and held together by coincidence. In the hands of a lesser storyteller, this novel would have been boring and implausible. But Eltayeb isn't such a storyteller. He is a hugely talented writer, whose smooth prose, his obvious love of telling tales (including tall ones), his seamless plotting, and his ability to draw realistic, memorable characters, make this one enjoyable journey. And a journey it is! This novel is filled with quests, travels, confrontations, love-affairs, eccentrics, romantics, and tales within tales, which makes it just a tad too long. But Eltayeb's unique style makes it an effortless read that never lags, and never becomes anything but a joy to go through.
It is a testament to Eltayeb's skills as a writer, that even the cliched ending packs an emotional punch and has a strong bitter-sweet feel to it.
This is a marvelous novel about being a stranger in a strange land, and about lonely people trying to find comfort in each other. But, above all, this is a novel about storytelling, its magic, and its power to heal. Unmissable.
* Available from Al-Hadara Publishing.
But it's Mozart! (!و لكنه موتسارت) by Lamiaa Mokhtar: Every once in a while you come across a book that takes you by surprise; not necessarily because it's brilliant, but because it's unique and heartfelt. Lamiaa Mokthar's play,
But it's Mozart!, took me by surprise, for several reasons. Firstly, it's a play about the almost mythic rivalry between Mozart and Salieri, and it's written by an Egyptian woman. That, in itself,
is something, considering the current state of Egyptian society. Secondly, the play is so compelling and energetic, that, while reading it, one forgets that the play doesn't cover any new ground regarding the subject matter, which is a testament to Mokthar's storytelling talent. But, to me, the most striking aspect about this play is that despite its brevity, it manages to paint both Mozart and Salieri vividly, really bringing them to life. Mokthar makes this feat look easy, but, really, it isn't.
The rivalry between these two legendary composers (which, to this day, some claim is nothing more than a myth, unsupported by facts) has been the subject of numerous written works, most famous of which are Alexander Pushkin's short drama
Mozart and Salieri, and Peter Shaffer's play
Amadeus, which was adapted into the Oscar-winning film of the same name. Mokthar borrows liberally from these two works; but she also adds another touch that is, arguably, all her own, which is giving the story an almost mythic feel by adding (in the very first scene of the play) the imaginary character of a gypsy that tells a young Salieri that his life will be ruined by the Sin of Envy. The ending, in which the ghost of Mozart's father appears to Mozart to show him the future, also is a brilliant touch, and one which gives the story and the play a bitter-sweet/fairy-tale like atmosphere.
I, for one, would have paid to see this play performed on the stage. But as a book (which the publisher cleverly formats like a novel for easy reading), this is a compelling, one-sitting read, which, if not quite a must for fans of Mozart, is recommended for readers and theatre-buffs looking for something fresh and heartfelt.
*
Available from Dar Oktob.
The Rainbow Dance (رقصة قوس قزح) by Sherif Meleika: I previously reviewed Sherif Meleika's novel,
Soloman's Ring (خاتم سليمان), which I found to be a revelation; a stylish, engrossing, original historical Egyptian novel that defies categorization. Well, Meleika's new novel,
The Rainbow Dance (رقصة قوس قزح), also is a novel that is hard to categorize, and one which cements Meleika's position as one of Egypt's most important novelists. This is a beautifully written, deeply touching, and boldly dark piece of work.
The novel revolves around a group of Egyptian immigrants living in America (including Mourad, a former Judge, and his wife; Ashraf, a doctor who suffers from clinical depression; Magdy, an extremist young Muslim man; and Labib, a disturbed, sexually perverted musician) who all share a terrible memory: The memory of the 4th of July celebration where they all gathered and on which something terrible happened to Magdy's daughter. The novel is divided into seven parts (and an epilogue), each part focusing on the statement of one of the characters regarding what happened on that fateful day. Each part is represented by a different rainbow color which reflects the mood and/or psyche of each narrator.
Meleika really stretches his narrative muscles here, smoothly shifting from one voice to another to show us each character's take on what happened that day. Each character is meticulously drawn, so that you really get to know each of these deeply damaged, complex people. From Ashraf, who suffers from clinical depression, and whose sarcastic yet touching tone is compelling and haunting, to Mourad, whose guilt-laden, grief-ravaged thoughts are deeply affecting, to Salwa, the sexually-frigid wife, whose bitter, sad musings are moving and disturbing, these are characters that feel real, their thoughts ringing true. Also, the novel, bravely, deals with topics that most Egyptian authors are either too self-censoring or too coy to deal with; like Egyptians' and Arab's double-standards when it comes to the U.S. (for example: we loathe their sexual freedom and their lifestyle, yet, secretly, we covet and admire those very same things); homosexual Egyptian youths and - due to a repressed and oppressive society - how confused and guilt-laden they are; and, most importantly, how it really is to be an Egyptian immigrant in the U.S. (both the good and the bad). Meleika tackles all these issues with panache, wit, intelligence, and an unflinching eye; as this is a dark novel, filled with pain, loss and uncomfortable truths. But it is also compelling, wonderfully written, and filled to the brim with memorable characters and sharp dialogue.
Although the central premise is somewhat implausible (the characters too readily agree to share, with a friend, their most intimate thoughts regarding a tragic event), this is a minor caveat, since this is a fascinating, thought-provoking, challenging story about a group of flawed, damaged people, struggling with the darkest aspects of what it means to be human. A must read.
* Available from Al-Hadara Publishing.
The Widow Writes Letters In Secret (الأرملة تكتب الخطابات سرا) by Tareq Imam:
Tareq Imam's third novel is, in my humble opinion, his most accomplished piece of long fiction. Although, from day one, his unique style and grasp of imagery were strongly evident,
The Widow Writes Letters in Secret, is a step forward in terms of narrative skills and literary accomplishment. Why, you ask? The answer is simple: With this novel, and for the first time in his already accomplished career as a writer, Imam manages to imbue his stylish imagery and hallucinatory plots with something new: Affection for his characters.
The story - about an old widow (Malak) who returns to her native town for the first time in decades after her husband's death, and who tries to fill the emotional void in her life by writing romantic letters on behalf of her teenage students, whom she tutors, so that they can present them, as their own, to their lovers - is intriguing, and as told by Imam's unique style, highly atmospheric. Add the wandering ghost of Malak's husband and a mysterious letter which the widow wakes up one night to find plastered to the flesh of her thigh, and you get a wildly original, Gothic tale that is hard to put down once you start reading it. But what's really surprising here is how touching the story is. Despite its short length (the novella is 79 pages long), Imam manages to flesh out his characters, especially the widow, Malak, who is a tragic, sad character, perpetually mourning the loss of her youth and her first love. But despite her sadness and her age, there is a romantic fire that burns within her, whose heat we can feel and empathize with as the story moves along. Also, the relationship between the widow and the nun who lives across the street from her, is a touching interlude, brilliantly written, and a considerable achievement, considering that it only takes Imam a handful of pages to create such a vivid, memorable rapport between these two characters. Imam, as always, also has something to say about contemporary Egypt, and it isn't pretty, making this not only an entertaining piece of work, but also a multi-layered one.
Although the ambiguous, circular ending is a bit disappointing, this is an original, stylish, memorable piece of work, and another brilliant piece of storytelling by Tarq Imam, one of Egypt's most accomplished contemporary writers. Unmissable.
* Available from Dar Al-Ain.
My new book, The Diary of A Dead Young Woman (مذكرات ميتة), is now available to buy in Egypt.
