149th out of 175 books
—
184 voters
The Bleeding of the Stone
by
Ibrahim Kuni
The moufflon, a wild sheep prized for its meat, continues to survive in the remote mountain desert of southern Libya. Only Asouf, a lone bedouin who cherishes the desert and identifies with its creatures, knows exactly where it is to be found. Now he and the moufflon together come under threat from hunters who have already slaughtered the once numerous desert gazelles. The...more
Paperback, 160 pages
Published
October 1st 2001
by Interlink Books
(first published 1990)
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It's nice to read a modern Arabic work that for once revolved around themes other than religion and politics. This particular story focused on environmentalism, especially the delicate balance of desert ecology where, in the absence of civilization, man and beast depended directly on one another for survival. The story incorporates 'magical realism' in the form of North African Sufi folk spirituality to give explanation for the events. It's a little like a Bedouin folk tale version of the 'Old M...more
"I tell you. Be patient. How can you live in the desert without patience? The man who was never granted its contentment will never be happy there. I tell you. Use patience and cunning, they're the secrets of the desert...."
Asouf is a Bedouin living alone with his sheep in the cave-laden mountains of Libya. This novel tells his story and also stories of several surrounding characters, while also dipping into magical realism and mysticism.
There is a fair amount of description of gazelles vs. wadda...more
Asouf is a Bedouin living alone with his sheep in the cave-laden mountains of Libya. This novel tells his story and also stories of several surrounding characters, while also dipping into magical realism and mysticism.
There is a fair amount of description of gazelles vs. wadda...more
A quick read, much appreciated after struggling through Algerian Ahlam Mosteghanemi's (أحلام مستغانمي) Memory in the Flesh. Set in the remote mountain desert of southern Libya, a reclusive vegetarian bedouin goat herder with an unusual affinity with animals, is forced to deal with a hunter crazed with hunger for meat.
I loved the vegetarian and ecological issues as well as Asouf's ability to draw on his unending patience. I'll be looking for more books in Interlink Publishing's Emerging Voices,...more
I loved the vegetarian and ecological issues as well as Asouf's ability to draw on his unending patience. I'll be looking for more books in Interlink Publishing's Emerging Voices,...more
The Bleeding of the Stone is a Libyan novel about Asouf, a Bedouin man living a hermit-like existence out in the desert, herding goats and occasionally guiding foreigners to see the rock paintings on the walls of the wadis.
Asouf has a spiritual relationship with the desert and particularly with an animal called the waddan, the Barbary Sheep*, that lives in the mountains. Two hunters arrive who want him to find the waddan for them, and the book intercuts the story of their interaction and flashba...more
Asouf has a spiritual relationship with the desert and particularly with an animal called the waddan, the Barbary Sheep*, that lives in the mountains. Two hunters arrive who want him to find the waddan for them, and the book intercuts the story of their interaction and flashba...more
استغرقت وقت طويل لايجاد هذه الرواية..كان لدي فضول قوي لاقرا لهذا الكاتب..شدني عنوان الرواية..فهو معبر ..يوحي بالالم و العذاب و المعاناة.. عندما قرات الرواية شعرت كاني في الصحراء..اجوب مع الكاتب في ارجائها..اعيش مع سكانها..اتعرف على اسرارها
اسلوب الكاتب رائع في وصف الشخصيات و صياغة الاحداث..اكثر ما شدني حياة اسوف و كيفية انقاد الودان لهززكان ذلك رائع و مشوق..يهز المشاعر..مقاومة اسوف كانت بطولية..اعجبت به رغم تعقيده..اما بالنسبة الي قابيل فهو متوحش..فاقد السيطرة على نفسه و ذاته..تنوع الثقافات في ال...more
اسلوب الكاتب رائع في وصف الشخصيات و صياغة الاحداث..اكثر ما شدني حياة اسوف و كيفية انقاد الودان لهززكان ذلك رائع و مشوق..يهز المشاعر..مقاومة اسوف كانت بطولية..اعجبت به رغم تعقيده..اما بالنسبة الي قابيل فهو متوحش..فاقد السيطرة على نفسه و ذاته..تنوع الثقافات في ال...more
Bummer. I really wanted to like this Libyan story. There is so much material for a great novel here, but the presentation about drove me up the wall. Mainly the story is told by delving into background and motivation through flashback. The digressions are, finally, the true substance of the book, interrupting any natural momentum that might otherwise have accrued. There is much violation of the show-don’t-tell principle, a few unlikely coincidences, and some truly gratuitous gore.
رواية رائعة .. هي أول الأعمال التي أقرأها للكون
..
فكرة العزلة واللجوء للطبيعة والصحراء لفهم معاني الحياة والتعمق فيها تروق لي كثيرا ..
تفاصيل الرواية تقترب كثيرا من تفاصيل البيئة التي أعيش بها ..
ليست من الروايات الطويلةالمملة .. على العكس .. أنهيتها سريعا وبمتعة وفائدة من بدأي بأول أعمال هذا الروائي :))
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فكرة العزلة واللجوء للطبيعة والصحراء لفهم معاني الحياة والتعمق فيها تروق لي كثيرا ..
تفاصيل الرواية تقترب كثيرا من تفاصيل البيئة التي أعيش بها ..
ليست من الروايات الطويلةالمملة .. على العكس .. أنهيتها سريعا وبمتعة وفائدة من بدأي بأول أعمال هذا الروائي :))
Jun 23, 2012
Emma
added it
Sometimes, you can read a book in translation from a very foreign culture and yet the characters and the story will make sense to you, and connect with you. The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years was one of those books for me. And then sometimes, you read a foreign translation and go "......whaaaaaaaa?" That was The Bleeding of the Stone, for me.
Bizarre magic realism, a disjointed plot, and heavy symbolism. I understand what was going on in the individual scenes and was aware of the themes the...more
Bizarre magic realism, a disjointed plot, and heavy symbolism. I understand what was going on in the individual scenes and was aware of the themes the...more
يبدع إبراهيم الكوني في هذه الرواية ويمزج بين أنواع الميثولوجيا المختلفة: الدينية والقبلية الصحراوية، ليخرج برائعة قلما قرأنا نظيراً لها في الأدب العربي المعاصر. العامل الأسطوري يضفي على الصحراء سحراً ويخلق لدى القرئ توقاً للتعرف إلى هذه البيئة. الفلاش باك موظف بإتقان، عدا عن الوصف الأخاذ والمشاهد التي لا تنسى.
Oct 19, 2012
Ali
added it
اقشعر بدني واهتز كياني لقراءة السطور الأخيرة لمصير أسوف! أحقا لن ننعم بالخير والسلام حتى نزيف الحجر؟!.
Jun 26, 2010
Sunny Kumar
marked it as to-read
It's heart-touching......
I read this book by Ibrahim Alkoni in its original language; Arabic. The narrator displays deep wisdom and remarkable strength throughout his journey. The kind of wisdom and strength I could only see in people of the desert. This is indeed a unique piece of work. It's the kind of book I would want to re-read, and never give away.
I'm very happy to find one of my all time favorite writer in the library of Goodreads. Ibrahim Al Koni is brilliant writer, and if like to know more about Libya or live in a new myth, you real have to read Al Koni. Actually I'd like to recommend all his books, but this is the only one I found in here. It's really really so good.
May 18, 2013
Rabab
is currently reading it
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle East/North...: The Bleeding of the Stone (Jan/Feb) 2011 | 29 | 78 | Mar 10, 2011 06:35am |
Ibrahim Al-Koni (sometimes translated as Ibrāhīm Kūnī) (Arabic: ابراهيم الكوني) is a Libyan writer[1][2] and one of the most prolific Arabic novelists.
Born in 1948 in the Fezzan Region, Ibrahim al-Koni was brought up on the tradition of the Tuareg, popularly known as "the veiled men" or "the blue men." Mythological elements, spiritual quest and existential questions mingle in the writings of al-K...more
More about Ibrahim Kuni...
Born in 1948 in the Fezzan Region, Ibrahim al-Koni was brought up on the tradition of the Tuareg, popularly known as "the veiled men" or "the blue men." Mythological elements, spiritual quest and existential questions mingle in the writings of al-K...more
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“لم يستطع يومها أن يفهم هذه اللغة. كيف يكون الله الكبير, العظيم, القادر على كل شىء فى القلب الصغير, المسجون فى قفص هذا الصدر؟”
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22 people liked it
“تزحزت الشمس عن العرش ، و بدت عليها مسحة الهزيمة و هي تنكسر نحو الغروب . في لحظة الانكسار تبدو الشمس دائماً مهمومة حزينة .
ربما لأنها تودع الصحراء إلى مثواها اليومي الخالد.
في الصباح لا تبدو على وجهها مثل هذه السمات . في الصباح تبدو قاسية ، تتوعد، و تهدد الكائنات بالتنكيل و العذاب .”
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11 people liked it
More quotes…
ربما لأنها تودع الصحراء إلى مثواها اليومي الخالد.
في الصباح لا تبدو على وجهها مثل هذه السمات . في الصباح تبدو قاسية ، تتوعد، و تهدد الكائنات بالتنكيل و العذاب .”

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May 03, 2012 01:17am