Timbuctoo in Q&A with Tahir Shah

Jun 24, 2012 H.M. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

If you like a story about the oppressed, the downtrodden or the outsider coming through in spite of harrowing events, grave injustices and enormous odds stacked against them; characters you love to hate; and a good old-fashioned love story, then you may well find wonderful resonances and enjoyment in Tahir Shah's epic novel, Timbuctoo. There are some anti-establishment sentiments in the mix and, given some of the characters' proclivities and activities -- such as the Prince Regent's whimsical ex If you like a story about the oppressed, the downtrodden or the outsider coming through in spite of harrowing events, grave injustices and enormous odds stacked against them; characters you love to hate; and a good old-fashioned love story, then you may well find wonderful resonances and enjoyment in Tahir Shah's epic novel, Timbuctoo. There are some anti-establishment sentiments in the mix and, given some of the characters' proclivities and activities -- such as the Prince Regent's whimsical excesses and the making of fortunes from trade in unfortunate African slaves -- rightly so, I feel. These themes are timeless.

There's a wise, old saying that you only possess that which would survive a shipwreck. In Robert Adams' case, this was faith, hope, gritty determination and above all the passionate love which fuelled and drove these qualities in him, and to which he clung on for dear life. We're all shipwrecked when we're brought into this world, become enslaved in one way or another and, separated from our "beloved", we yearn to be reunited. There's something about this process that touches on the mystical. In a sense, then, like the old woodcutter in the traditional story of Mushkil Gusha (Remover of All Difficulties), Robert Adams is telling us our own archetypal story and also showing us a way through all this to freedom. The details are very different for each individual, but the underlying pattern is the same.

I found that the author's use of short chapters and often short paragraphs split up the novel into easily manageable "bites", added to the pace of the story and also heightened the drama. With many deft twists and turns in the captivating plot, the book was a real page turner and unputdownable. Knowing little to nothing about the Regency era when I embarked, I also found the rich and vivid description and the adept characterizations educational, informative and also enjoyable and satisfying.

The book is not only about Robert Adams' harrowing narrative, it is of course also about the reception his account received, adding insult to injustice. One thing that struck me was the possible parallel between this and that received by Tahir Shah's own father, the writer, thinker and Sufi teacher, Idries Shah. Both were outsiders and introduced exotic ideas into society, based on first hand experience of the truth. This led both men to become celebrated by many and also dismissed, resented and even undermined by a few self-appointed experts who had their own fixed ideas, largely based on hearsay and what they wanted to believe was the truth. These latter few didn't want to hear the truth but to maintain their vested interests or have their prior beliefs confirmed. This is a point that Idries Shah actually made in the BBC television documentary, "One Pair of Eyes: Dreamwalkers". In it, he says:

"We all think of ourselves as logical people: people who are capable of changing our minds, for instance, if we get superior information, more information which tells us that our former beliefs or prejudices were untrue.

"Doctor Ward Edwards of the University of Michigan Engineering Psychology Laboratory has disproved this in a most alarming manner. He has shown that one third of people are not able to change their minds once they have made them up on the basis of inaccurate information, even if accurate information is subsequently given to them."

A thoroughly enjoyable read -- and well worth re-reading and savouring at a more leisurely pace -- I have no hesitation in giving Tahir Shah's novel, Timbuctoo, five stars; and I can't wait to get my hands on the forthcoming, lavish limited edition hardcover with its bonus features.

Update 15 September 2012: I've since received a copy of the lavish, limited edition hardcover edition, and Tahir Shah's wife and graphic designer, Rachana Shah is to be thoroughly commended for such an exquisite and well thought out book design. ...more

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May 30, 2012 Holly rated it it was amazing

Timbuctoo is a novel that I could not put down. I read it in three days, and it took me that long only because I had work to do. If I had received my copy on a weekend, I would have read through it in one sitting. The story is entertaining, fascinating, and gripping.

This book is so different from the author's previous books, and yet I loved it just as much as everything else I've read of his. First of all, it's historical fiction (a Regency romance, nonetheless), while his previous work was tra Timbuctoo is a novel that I could not put down. I read it in three days, and it took me that long only because I had work to do. If I had received my copy on a weekend, I would have read through it in one sitting. The story is entertaining, fascinating, and gripping.

This book is so different from the author's previous books, and yet I loved it just as much as everything else I've read of his. First of all, it's historical fiction (a Regency romance, nonetheless), while his previous work was travel writing, both guide books and amazing real life adventures. Secondly, this book marked the author's move from traditional Big Six publishing to self publishing.

Shah's wife is a book designer, and between the two of them they created a true work of art: a gorgeous hardcover edition, with gilded lettering on the cover, marbled end-papers (when was the last time you saw those on a modern edition?), a silk bookmark, a little pouch in the back cover filled with extra goodies, and amazing paper quality. The book is huge, textbook-sized, and has six fold-out maps included inside. I am a map addict, and can stare at a map endlessly.

Five of the six maps that were included in this book are Horwood's maps of London. I had never heard of these maps before reading Timbuctoo, but apparently Richard Horwood spent almost ten years from 1790 to 1799 mapping the streets of London, down to each individual building. The amount of detail is impressive. If you are a map freak, you must get this book.

I was also not a huge fan of the Regency before this book (with the exception of Jane Austen), but the amount of historical detail in Timbuctoo led me to do a little research online. The Timbuctoo website also has a massive amount of information on the Regency: digital images of Horwood's maps, the original Narrative of Robert Adams, people from the Regency, places from the Regency, things that were stylish during the Regency, explorers who attempted to reach Timbuctoo and failed, a list of suggested reading on Timbuctoo, a timeline of the history of Timbuctoo, and a poem by Tennyson on Timbuctoo. There is so much supplementary information to keep you busy researching topics related to both Timbuctoo and the Regency Era.

Shah makes history come alive in this book. I am not a huge history buff and I was always bored in school by the memorization of battles and dates, but I love hearing stories from times past. Timbuctoo is the most fascinating story of an illiterate American sailor who was shipwrecked off the coast of Africa, enslaved for three years, and survived to tell his tale in London.

It's an endearing love story, and it's also story of endurance: of struggling on when there's no hope on the horizon. And it's a story of survival: redemption when you least expected it. These are timeless themes, appealing at any point in history. Adams focuses on three very clear goals: first, surviving and attaining his freedom from slavery; second, returning to the United States; third, reuniting himself with his young bride. Is he successful on all three counts? I don't want to spoil it for anyone, and in any case, Adams' journey is much more important than the end result.

Woven throughout Timbuctoo is a thread of rebellion, of going against the grain, of not following the pack. Robert Adams is not only a survivor, he insists on keeping true to himself at every turn of the story. Despite the hatred his beloved's father held for him, he insisted on marrying her. Unlike his companions, he refuses to convert to Islam while enslaved in the desert, insisting on retaining his Christian faith. And while telling his tale in London, he refuses to get caught up in the sometimes dangerous politics of Regency society.

The characters are rich and well developed, and the author does an excellent job of drawing you into the world he's created. You'll be rooting for Adams from the very beginning, and you'll stay on his side throughout the book. His companions on his journey are equally fascinating, and have a depth that goes beyond the simple dichotomy of good and evil.

One added bonus is that the author is planning a treasure hunt to promote the book, and has hidden four large golden African heads all over the world. More details on the website, and clues to crack the code to find the GPS coordinates are found within the book itself.

Timbuctoo will appeal to Jane Austen addicts, history buffs, fans of exotic adventure, and underdog enthusiasts. This is one of those books where, when you reach the final page, the only thing you can think of doing is to flip the book around and start back on page one. And so you do. I cannot recommend it enough.

Disclaimer: I know the author personally and work with him through my company, Tribal Publishing, which helps authors build their online platform using social media. I was a reader of this author's books before working with him, and our professional relationship did not affect this honest review. ...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Paul rated it it was amazing

Timbuctoo
It must be said straight off that Tahir Shah’s new, and self published, book Timbuctoo is a triumph of design.Congratulations Rachana. With it’s gold title lettering,sumptious marbled end papers,silk bookmark and large fold out maps, it’s in the style of a 19 Century travel book,indeed, it’s very like the original Narrative of Robert Adams on which it is based.
Whilst the usual Shah energy, the ability to tell a tale, the gallery of fascinating and sometimes grotesque characters are all Timbuctoo
It must be said straight off that Tahir Shah’s new, and self published, book Timbuctoo is a triumph of design.Congratulations Rachana. With it’s gold title lettering,sumptious marbled end papers,silk bookmark and large fold out maps, it’s in the style of a 19 Century travel book,indeed, it’s very like the original Narrative of Robert Adams on which it is based.
Whilst the usual Shah energy, the ability to tell a tale, the gallery of fascinating and sometimes grotesque characters are all here this is a very different book from his previous ones. Here he has put Robert Adams, the first westerner to see Timbuctoo and live to tell the tale firmly in the forefront. Adams was found in 1815, half-starved and penniless on the streets of London.His descriptions of Timbuctoo, where he had been taken as a slave following a shipwreck, were nothing like the fantastic beliefs held in London and European society of the time. They believed Timbuctoo to be made entirely of gold and were in a desperate race between nations to reach there and claim it for their country.
The ensuing attempts to supress and discredit Adams are what holds Shah’s tale together.Adams was American and thus less than popular at that time in England.According to some reports his mother was a ‘mulatto’ and he was illiterate .Therefore what hope could he have of putting forward his story against the rich and powerful ,not to mention greedy and corrupt,powers of the day.As Shah says in the foreward,this is a tale looking at the enthusiasms and pre-occupations of the Regency era and is only very loosely based on Adams true story.He has ‘massaged facts and fictions into place,re-conjuring history’.
It is set in 1815, a few years after England lost America, fewer after the first Abolition of Slavery Act was passed but Wellington had just defeated Bonaparte at Waterloo and an extravagant,self indulgent and self absorbed Prince Regent was on the throne. The Regent was passionate in his pursuit of exotica as well as of food,wine,portraits of himself and women.Other great characters and themes are present.Byron, Beau Brummell, Lady Caroline Lamb, Joseph Banks, intriques against the throne,hangmen, showmen, slavery, excess, poverty, corruption, violence and love all make their appearance. There’s no great examination of these themes, even of Adams’ invented great love back in Hudson but it becomes clearer that there are parallels between this glittering age and the view of Africans as ‘barbarous’. In England at the time slavery was still being hotly defended by many and fortunes were still to be made from it.There were public viewings at Bedlam, public hangings, public dissection of corpses, all offered as entertainment.
What Shah has done is to capture the rambunctious Regency spirit.It was a time of huge extravagance , when appearance,absurdity,fiction and reality were all forged together in the heat of Regency profligacy and Shah has written and invented a tale to match. There’s also a hidden treasure within the book, see if you can solve it.If you do you can dig up a fabulous gilded African head, there’s one hidden on each continent.
If this book leads anyone to look at Adams’ story,slavery, the Regency period or anything else that gallops across these pages,then good for you.There’s a wealth of extra stuff on the Timbuctoo website. Otherwise, sit back, hang on and enjoy the ride.
...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Toni rated it it was amazing

Timbuctoo by Tahir Shah.
This is a book to read and re read. Gallop through it and miss a lot. Can’t help galloping or like me, beginning in the middle and jumping about, then re-reads are a must, each read revealing overlooked somethings. A kaleidoscope of a book, shifting fragments of glass redesigning themselves. See many other reviews for the story line. An even handed presentation of greed and savageries past and present. Tahir Shah locks the reader into the world he writes about. How his he ...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Anette rated it it was amazing

Based on truth, and impeccably researched, this is the story of a sailor found close to death on the streets of London in December 1815. Robert Adams, an American, is invited to narrate his tale in front of an open audience, and soon all of high society is clamouring to hear how he once came to be the guest of the King of Timbuctoo.
Tahir Shah has a very definite gift for telling stories in a way that it sucks you in and makes you believe every word for gospel. Even though I knew this was not 100 ...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Joost Perreijn rated it it was amazing

I have always loved Tahir Shah’s Books, but with this great effort of self publishing Timbuctoo Tahir has surpassed all his other books. Of course there is the obvious: a very, very beautiful, with loving care designed book, rich in every detail. A book that befits a tradition of the making of travel books I thought long lost. In a regular bookshop, you would not be surprised to pay at least a hundred Euros for such a grand book. Something you’re proud of to have in your library…

Timbuctoo is ve ...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Borut rated it it was amazing

THE SINGULAR FUTURE OF THE BOOK: AN ARTEFACTUAL WORK OF ART

How else to summarize Timbuctoo, Tahir Shah’s first novel, that has just come out, but by quoting a verse from Kasidah, the long philosophical poem written by Sir Richard Burton, the great 19th century British explorer:

“We dance along Death’s icy brink, but is the dance less full of fun?”

It is definitely Tahir Shah’s most complex project, in which a traditional novel with an almost archetypal plot, new media, ‘reality show’, self-publis ...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Robs rated it really liked it

First reading: Shah has a talent for lulling the reader into believing that within its context everything is fine, and then ambushing the mind with the completely unexpected, whereupon one laughs, weeps, gaffaws. A delightfull reading experience.

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Jun 24, 2012 Lauragais rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, fiction

Weltenreisender - Geschichtenerzähler - Zeitenzauberer: Der Meister arabischer Erzähltradition, Tahir Shah, berichtet in diesem Buch die von ihm in der London Library aufgestöberte wahre Geschichte eines amerikanischen Matrosens, Robert Adams, der vor zweihundert Jahren als erster Christ nach Timbuktu kam und dort als Sklave gehalten wurde.

Mit klingender höchster Erzählkunst lässt uns Tahir Shah an der unglaublich anmutenden Geschichte des Seemanns teilnehmen, an dessen buchstäblich fabelhaften, ...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Julian Hadlow rated it it was amazing

An excellent book. I read the Kindle version. It is a true story in the form of a novel that follows one Robert Adams in his trials and tribulations, following marriage to the girl he loved in Hudson, NY, USA.

He was packed off to Africa by his new father-in-law by ship, was shipwrecked, then picked up by Moors who killed some of his colleagues, before being parceled off through the Zahara, eventually returning to England, then back home to Hudson.

I won't explore the story in any more detail as I ...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Heather rated it it was amazing

A new direction for Tahir Shah and all I can say is, when is the next one coming out? The BEST thing he's ever written and as good as anything I've read this year... there's so much in this book - a wonderful depiction of the Cabinet of Curiosities that was Regency era England, a great adventure story, a fable about endurance and separation from one's Beloved, all wrapped up in a lovely package filled with amazing maps of the City of London circa 1815 (and one period map of Africa)... and I have ...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Ita rated it it was amazing

There is no point in repeating what others have said about this humorous and imaginative account of history. Since reading it, when I see examples of excess and buffoonery in today's world, the first word that comes into my head is 'Timbuctoo'.

This is a novel where time and space dissolve. The Regent may have shape-shifted, but he is still governed by self indulgence and prey to whims. Today's Joseph Banks, like his predecessor, has been deprived of all his natural teeth and Mr Bateman continues ...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Maurizio rated it it was amazing

I really loved this book, that inspired me to deepen the British Regency, an historical period I didn't know so good that I found very interesting. The novel respects the hystorical events and in this frame narrates a story that is a mix of adventure, love, mistery and hope.

I bought the hardcover limited edtion of Timbuctoo on Amazon, and it is really a masterpiece, with wonderful maps inside and a great attention to details: without any doubt the most amazing book I have in my bookcase.

I read ...more

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