The Colonial Conquest: The Confines of the Shadow Volume I

by Alessandro Spina, André Naffis-Sahely (Translator)

The Colonial Conquest is the first volume of Alessandro Spina's epic, The Confines of the Shadow , a sequence of novels and short stories that map the transformation of Libya, particularly the coastal city of Benghazi, under the pressure of Italian colonization.
This volume is divided into three sections--The Young Maronite, The Marriage of Omar and The Nocturnal Visitor--which are set between 1912 and 1927. At its outset we find Italian soldiers solidifying their control over Libya's coasts, leaving Libyan rebels to withdraw to the desert and prepare for a war that would rage for over a decade. The readers is then led to explore the divided Libya of the 1920s, when an Italian governor ruled from Benghazi while Sidi Idris al-Senussi, the head of the Senussi dynasty and future Libyan king, governed from Ajdabiya. Voices from all sides bicker over whether to reconcile or fight, though many simply try to make space for whatever small pleasures life amidst political upheaval might allow.
Employing a cosmopolitan array of characters, ranging from Ottoman functionaries, to Libyan aristocrats and Italian officers, Spina chronicles the colonial experience in Libya with breadth and feeling. Distinguished by an intimate understanding of East and West, this work and its companion volumes comprise among the most significant achievements of 20th century fiction and stand unchallenged as the only multi-generational epic about the European experience in North Africa.

Genres: Libya, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Italian Literature

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Alessandro Spina (Bengasi, 1927 – Rovato, 11 luglio 2013) è stato uno scrittore siriano naturalizzato italiano.

Nom de plume di Basili Khouzam, è nato in una famiglia di maroniti siriani originari di Aleppo stabilitasi in Cirenaica dopo la prima guerra mondiale, suo padre era proprietario di un'industria tessile a Bengasi. Ha trascorso l'infanzia in Libia, ma l'adolescenza e la giovinezza (1940-1953) a Milano, dove si è laureato in Lettere all'Università nel 1953, ritorna poi a Bengasi e diviene direttore dell'azienda di famiglia, che continua a dirigere fino al 1979, anche dopo la sua nazionalizzazione in seguito alla presa di potere di Gheddafi nel 1969. Nel 1960 pubblica su Paragone il racconto "Giugno '40", che Cristina Campo, in una lettera che gli invia scusandosi di scrivergli senza conoscerlo, definisce "una cosa di una qualità molto rara, come da tempo non mi accadeva di leggere." Da qui ha inizio una lunga e profonda amicizia epistolare, della quale le Lettere a un amico lontano sono la testimonianza. Come scrive in Conversazione in Piazza Sant'Anselmo: "Furono la Campo e Zolla a farmi trovare la strada per pubblicare i miei primi libri." Tornato di nuovo e definitivamente in Italia, si consacra completamente alla letteratura e pubblica dei romanzi di "narrativa coloniale", riuniti nel 2006 nel ciclo intitolato I confini dell'ombra, per il quale è insignito del premio Bagutta nel 2007.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally, I'd give it three-ish stars, but objectively I'd call it closer to four.

This title had been mentioned in The Return: Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between, so I decided to get a copy. When it arrived I was a bit disappointed that it was only stories from the early Italian years, but decided to give it a chance. Note: the stories are being published in English as a trilogy set, not a complete omnibus edition.

As with essay collections, I found some stories resonated more for me than others (yes, I did some skimming). Spina alternates points of view between Libyans, Italians, and a family of Lebanese Maronite merchants, who serve as a sort of neutral observer; Italians saw these Christians as Arabs, and locals saw these Arabs as Christian outsiders.

During this period, the locals cone to see the Italians as a replacement for the Ottomans, giving hope that they will largely be able to live as they had autonomously. It's hinted at the end that the Italian Fascists aren't down with that by the late 20s. The Italians and Maronites sometimes make efforts to understand the local culture, but in other ways they are living autonomously among the Muslims. That's the interesting angle. Unfortunately, at times the Italian sections were so philosophical (best way I can put it) that I felt "Does anyone really talk like that?" I had trouble keeping full traction during the Libyan stories that struck me as squabbling. The Maronites were interesting, though the uncle could be rigid, and nephew silly.

Bottom line: if you feel this sounds interesting, you'd probably like it. Spina writes well enough that I'll likely get the sequel as an ebook (currently offered for $2).

[Nathan "N.R." Gaddis]

"A Stage Across the Sea :: An unjustly-neglected Libyan novelist captured the twisted logic of colonialism, past and present."
By Ursula Lindsey
October 1, 2015
http://www.thenation.com/article/a-st...

"Spina’s opus is the colonial epic The Confines of the Shadow, a cycle of 11 novels and short-story collections [edit : !!!!!!!!!] that offers a deep and singular account of the great historical fractures that preceded the establishment of Moammar El-Gadhafi’s ­Jamahiriya in 1977. A first installment, In Lands Overseas, containing three novels—The Young Maronite, The Marriage of Omar, and The Nocturnal Visitor—set during the Italian conquest and early occupation from 1911 to ’27, is now available from Darf in a translation by the poet André Naffis-Sahely. Two further installments focus on the brief golden age of the Italian colony, in the 1930s, and on the period of independence leading up to Gadhafi’s bloodless coup against King Idris in 1969. The Confines is a reminder, among many other things, of the radical transformations that Arab countries experienced in the 20th century—and that have continued to the present day, since Libya after Gadhafi’s fall has become a terrible new place. "

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more unusual books I've read. It's not really a narrative and perhaps this is why it took me so long to finish. It's a kind of allegorical history of Italian colonialism in Libya. Sometimes hard to understand but interesting and thought provoking. I'm going to read the next in the trilogy.

[Tracy Conway · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nation Magazine has referenced this book enough times over the years that I had to read it and I was not disappointed. The focus on the microcosm of these interpersonal dealings while the overarching macrocosm of Italian fascism just looms just creates so much tension throughout. I’m not well versed enough to unpack the entirely of this work but will be dwelling on and researching this for years to come.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fable-like quality of the writing sometimes made it hard to latch onto the characters (at times leaving my mind to wander). And the theater metaphors were a bit overstretched. But I’m really glad I read this because it tells a story that has hardly ever been told, at least to anglophone audiences, and should be. The book is really good at capturing the awkward intimacies of Italian colonialism from multiple perspectives.

[bookblast official · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cosmopolitan array of characters illuminates Italy’s colonial experience from the euphoria of conquest, ranging from Ottoman functionaries, to Sanussi aristocrats and Italian officers, to the rise and fall of Fascism in the aftermath of World War II . . . and the country’s independence in the 1950s.

Reviewed on The BookBlast® Diary 2017

[Sally Akins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclosure: I was send a copy of ‘The Confines of the Shadow’ for review purposes, but the opinions in this post are my own and unbiased.

‘The Confines of the Shadow’* by Alessandro Spina is a collection of novels and short stories. They follow the transformation of Benghazi from a sleepy backwater in the 1910s to the second capital of an oil-rich kingdom in the 1950s. This is the first of a three volume translation of the novels by Andre Naffis-Sahely. It is a piece of literature very much unlike any other that I’ve read so far in 2015. Having just finished reading the book, I feel that it warrants a bit more explanation than I normally put into my book reviews.

Alessandro Spina is the nom de plume of Basili Shafik Khouzam, who was born into a family of Syrian Maronites in Benghazi in 1927. ‘The Confines of the Shadow’ is set in Libya, starting in 1912 at the time of the Italian invasion of the country. It is the only multi-generational account of this period of history, and was awarded the Bagutta prize (Italy’s highest literary prize).

This first volume includes ‘The Young Maronite’, ‘The Marriage of Omar’ and ‘The Nocturnal Visitor’. It covers the period up until 1927, when Italy and the Libyan rebels were engaged in a brutal war. The later novels in the collection cover the period through the rise of Italian Fascism and the Second World War, up to Libya’s independence in the 1950s. This is a period of history and a culture that I don’t know much about. While that meant that I came to the book without any pre-conceived opinions, I also didn’t have much understanding of the setting.

Spina’s work is full of encounters between pairs of people: husbands and wives, masters and servants, occupiers and Libyans. However these pairings occur, they almost inevitably seem to lead to melodrama and tragedy. The setting for these novels allows Spina to call on a wide range of characters. These include Italian officers, Ottoman functionaries, a 12 year old child bride and her teenage lover. The contrast between these characters and the interaction between the different cultures make for very interesting reading.

I’ve always found it difficult to critique a translated novel because obviously you are reading the translator’s words rather than those of the author himself. Andre Naffis-Sahely has previously translated works by Zola and Balzac, and has also had his own poetry published. In the introduction to ‘The Confines of the Shadow’, he explains that Spina died shortly before work began on this translation. This means that he could not be consulted on some of the more difficult passages in the book. But given the beautifully lyrical way that some of the passages in this book read, I think it is safe to say that Spina’s work is in safe hands.

I know that ‘The Confines of the Shadow’ is a beautifully written book, and the historical background and cultural setting is incredibly interesting. I enjoyed reading it, but I think it’s a book that will benefit greatly from a second reading, and that I’ll appreciate it more when I do so.

I’m sure that I’ll be returning to ‘The Confines of the Shadow’ in the future, but it’s not a book that I love, yet – 8/10

[J.C. Greenway · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing I loved most about this book was also the thing that at times was most frustrating about it.

Set in Libya in the 1920s and 30s, during the time of the Italian invasion, it features a cast of many characters. The book is a little like a soap opera in the way that it sets the reader down in the middle of one story, allows you to become comfortable with the characters and events before, as that tale unfolds, picking you up and taking you off to another. The cast are a little interconnected, in that some characters do appear again, but I did find that there were stories that were 'complete' where I wanted to know more! (There are more volumes of this tale to follow, so perhaps my wish will be granted...)

The stories unfold almost like fables - the teen bride of a wealthy man falls for a servant in his house, a case of mistaken identity involving identical brothers who have grown up apart - as the conquerors and the conquered interact and muse on their respective roles in the new society. The different moralities underpinning Italian and Libyan life are strained and tested as the colony is established before everything shifts again as Mussolini comes to power. A fascinating and informative read, but also more entertaining than a history lesson.

It also contains this quote, which I think all lovers of books can relate to:

'The man who loved to read felt that the unpleasant moment when one is forced to do what others expect of him was fast approaching.'

[World Literature Today]

"Few non-Western cities have penetrated our consciousness like Benghazi, Libya, following the 2012 attack on the American mission there, yet most of us know little about that city’s recent past. The English-language publication of Alessandro Spina’s grand, historical novel about twentieth-century Benghazi is a welcome antidote. Spina’s colorful tales of unrequited love, betrayal, and revenge spring from a cacophony of diverse voices—indigenous peoples of all castes, Italian occupiers, ambitious foreigners seeking lucrative trade deals amid the turmoil of occupation—who despite fundamental differences share a felt burden: a public duty to uphold the values of their own society while experiencing private misgivings about the infallibility of those values." - Lori Feathers

This book was reviewed in the March 2016 issue of World Literature Today magazine. Read the full review by visiting our website: http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...