I genuinely disliked this novel, and I’m not even sorry. It’s not my cup of tea AT ALL!
So it is ranked 7th on Arab Writers Union “100 best Arabic novels” List, so what?!
In my opinion, a very humble yet passionate reader, I don’t consider this particular novel to be an enjoyable and enriching read, rather an exercise in discipline and patience !
Despite the poetic writing, the sophisticated and very complicated –difficult at times- language, it’s MEDIOCRE at best. I don’t think it’s neither cohesive nor well structured; the flow is very random and chaotic. You just drown in this torrent of memories, recollections, characters, storylines and timelines. Honesty, it feels like a diary drenched in literature and poetry, where the writer shows off and challenges his expressive capacity in the Arabic language, with no other ulterior literary motive beyond.
I say all that, with all due respect to the novelist and his mastery in the language and the craft!