Middle East/North African Lit discussion
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The Translator
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Sudan: The Translator
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I finished this book about a month ago, after finishing In the Eye of the Sun. Both books could be sub-titled "What Goes on in the Mind of an Arab Woman, Looking for Love." One protagonist is wealthy, with a big healthy ego and a passing connection to her faith. The protagonist in The Translator is poor, with a small ego but a steadfast connection to her faith. Both want love, both get tangled up with people outside their religion, both shed light on what it means to be a Muslim woman. But, only The Translator sheds light on what it means to be a Muslim woman of faith: I found it very enriching and I feel deeply respectful.
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I read this book a couple of months ago. I'm not sure what to say about though. I liked it. I agree with a lot that has been said so far. It is a different kind of romance story from the perspective of a practicing Muslim woman living in a culture that is not Muslim. One thing I liked about it was the positive perception she had about living in Sudan. She thought life was better there than living in Scotland, although most felt the opposite was true.
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Susan wrote: "I read this book a couple of months ago. I'm not sure what to say about though. I liked it. I agree with a lot that has been said so far. It is a different kind of romance story from the perspe..."I also found it enlightening to read about the joys of living in Sudan; Sudan which carries so many negative images. This discussion makes me think that her happiness may stem more from being "home" than comparative physical attractions of the environment, though. The other thing this discussion brings to mind is the cold vs hot comparisons of Scotland v Sudan. I grew up in Minnesota in the US up near the Canadian border. I've never felt so cold. However, The Translator certainly took me back there. And the hot and dusty descriptions of her home in Sudan, the heat, the sand, the wind, what a comparison! And the personalities of the people in these places....did they mirror the environment?
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I'm not reading with you but chanced upon your comments. This reminds me of Ibn Khaldun's discussion of the temperate and the intemperate zones and the influence of the air upon the color of human beings and upon many other aspects of their condition.
Yes, I would also say the joys of living in Sudan has more to do with the connections with her family and a sense of belonging. However, her family was primarily concerned with leaving the country for better work opportunities. I'm not sure if I think it mirrors people's personalities of the region. If I recall correctly, she seemed to feel the only positive association she had was her connection to Rae. I kind of would have liked to have seen them stay in Africa.
Melanie wrote: "Yes, Steve, I agree that the author's joy is tied to a sense of "home," a sense of identity. As a reader, I was hoping that her identity would stretch (after marrying a Scottish man) to encompass p..."Hi Mel, Yes I agree on environmental determinism. I have no doubt that someone migrating from Sudan to Scotland would be shocked by the winter climate. I was more thinking of this as a literary technique, to use the winter climate as a metaphor for the acceptance or not that she may have felt, or even for her ability to assimilate.
On another note: My city of birth, Minneapolis, Minnesota as I've said is one of the coldest places in the US. However it is home to the largest populations of Somali immigrants in the US as well as the largest concentration of Hmong (from the highlands of Vietnam/Laos.) It is possible to find a home in in hostile climate.
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And yes, Steve, the weather does function as a literary tool. And yes, home is safety and belonging. It can occur in any environment potentially. I like that in this novel there are at least glimmers of both positive and negative associations in both places. That seems true to life in my experience. Living in any place has plenty of both positive and negative aspects.
I've finally got around to ordering this book! I expect I'll be able to fit it in some time in the next few weeks...
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How did I miss this thread! Luckily my library has it and I've ordered! Might be a few weeks before I join in.
That's great Jalilah we can read together :-D
Zanna wrote: "That's great Jalilah we can read together :-D"Yes, I am looking forward to it!
Since I have not read it yet, I can't comment about the book, but I can to the experience of being born in one place and moving to another.
I have noticed that people in the West assume that people moving there from the Middle East must automatically like it more, but that's often not the case. I myself lived in Egypt a year and In Yemen for three. When I moved to Canada people just assumed that life, in Yemen in particular, must have been awful, but I loved it. I was there in the 90s, so a safer time for sure, however I miss the warmth and friendliness of the people. It seemed that no matter how much people worked there was always time to socialize. When I moved I had to learn to be more reserved, if I was at the park with my toddler I couldn't just invite another mom over right away for coffee. They might think I am a serial killer. I couldn't just chat with people I didn't know while waiting in the grocery line or they might think I am crazy. It seemed any kind of social activity had to be planned way in advance. Really I suffered from the difference at first even though I am originally from the U.S. and lived many years in Europe.
All that being said, I know from my friends and in laws who live here but are originally from over there that they are always in between two places. They miss the place they are originally from, but when they go back to visit they no longer feel like they can live their either.....
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Thank you Jalilah, so much. Although I've lived in the UK all my life with the exception of 3 months traveling in Brazil, 4 months working at sea in the Caribbean and 3 months in Zhongshan, China, I strongly feel that British culture in general is dying and thinning from lack of community and social fabric. I feel pain and longing for something I've only ever had in fragments, I feel a hunger that never leaves me until i go home and visit my parents. Many people who know me might be surprised to hear me say this, because I'm an introvert and need to spend a lot of time by myself - and I'm inept at making and maintaining the connections I crave, but the social structures that cut me off from others are too strong for me. I dream of being the village witch in my hut & herb garden, telling stories and dispensing remedies...
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Melanie <3 may it happen! Of late I have decided that if I want my village I must make it in my heart first and build it with love. So I have told my family of my intention to devote more of our time together to storytelling, because I believe cultures that have social fabric instead of being made up of atomized rootless consumers connect to their histories and each other, often through oral tradition... Of course being white means facing histories is uncomfortable. Being truthful might mean we have to change what we do. Maybe that's why we avoid them, why we're so susceptible to the divide and rule of consumer culture. In any case, I see my condition is a sorry one and I can't hope to heal myself in my own lifetime, but I can start working to create a better culture. When I went to the park in Brasilia I was so moved by the tiny trees. The city was then only about 50 years old, and it's built in a kind of high savanna landscape with no trees, so there are hardly any mature trees there, just one stand of pines, and lots of young hardwoods. Folks planted this park knowing they would not see it in glory. Such acts are too rare among white people...
Hi Zanna I wish you luck on your journey. To get back to a humane time we need a totally different re-humanized conceptual framework. Read for example any paper or any article, they speak of labour force (not population), as if these 'people' did not exist as human beings. They attack unions as if they weren't made up of human beings trying to make a better life. This is the neo conservative economic paradigm that reduces human beings to matters of economic exchange. The social good or social bad of government is not even part of the equation. This dehumanisation is what attracts us to warm socially-based cultures of the Middle East that we are reading about (mainly due to the stories covering an earlier time.) We need to replace those economists who are in power today with social scientists and anthropologists - then we'll get back to the 'village' you desire. Hopefully we can do this before we destroy mother earth.
Melanie wrote: "Is anyone else reading this book? I finished it, and thought it was very well written. It is an unusual and welcome addition, as it provides a "practicing" Muslim woman's perspective on life and lo..."I started this morning and agree that it's well written. I am really enjoying it!
I would not consider the writing style to be stream of consciousness, not in the the way Brooklyn Heights was. I am finding it very easy to get into the story, especially considering I don't really understand Sammar at all, how a woman could leave her child or want to marry and old man when the husband she loves has just died. That is a sign for me of good writing that in spite of these things we are able to get drawn into her world.
The part where she describes all of a sudden getting the feeling she is in Sudan, we were talking before about the experiences of living in other places.....I get that all the time, what she describes: When I am in one place all of a sudden get the feeling just for a few seconds that I am someplace else. She describes it so well!
I was planning to start The Hearing Trumpet today but now you've made me want to read this instead Jalilah!
Zanna wrote: "I was planning to start The Hearing Trumpet today but now you've made me want to read this instead Jalilah!"Oh do Zanna! I'll read Hearing Trumpet with you afterwards!
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I've started it:-) my edition has a really annoying introduction that just summarises the plot! What a stupid thing to include. Spoiler :-( anyway I've read only the first chapter and I am instantly delighted by it. I love the standpoint of Sammar, I feel for her strongly already
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What you say about the moments that Sudan returns to her, Jalilah, yes! I love how she uses the word 'balance', that it isn't a feeling of confusion like mental illness, but something really pleasant for her.I don't have a child... To me Sammar feeling emotional rejection of her son makes sense, i can imagine this as part of intense grief. Also, i feel her need to remarry someone she knows and feels good around since she feels so devastated and emptied out. It might be that she wants to recover that connection to childhood comfort that having Tarig with her gave.
But I don't think it is necessary to relate personally to a character to feel for them and like them. Anyway, I will decide later how i feel about Sammar finally. I find it interesting that her thoughts about Yasmin have a critical tone, or that Yasmin is presented critically - I love Yasmin!
Zanna wrote: "..I don't have a child... To me Sammar feeling emotional rejection of her son makes sense, i can imagine this as part of intense grief. Also, i feel her need to remarry someone she knows and feels good around since she feels so devastated and emptied out. It might be that she wants to recover that connection to childhood comfort that having Tarig with her gave.."As I read on I could definitely see that. From the start, at her arrival as a child when he picks her up and takes her in his arms at the airport in Khartoum Ahmec Ali Yasseen has been a comforting father like figure for Sammar. It's no wonder when she was lost and grieving after the death of her husband that she sought out a solid comforting figure from her childhood. I loved that scene of her first impressions of Sudan as a young girl! Without being overly wordy or descriptive she transports the reader to the places of her memories.
Yes, i agree, it's so wonderfully done! Such a light touch, beautiful writing
I finished this morning and found it a beautiful moving read. Even though I found the ending (view spoiler) a little unrealistic (view spoiler) It did not detract from the novel. Anyway the romantic part of myself wanted the ending to be as it was. Regardless I find Leila Abuleila can write about the simplest things, like making tea, and make them seem like the most interesting things in the world. I look forward to reading more of her!
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Melanie wrote: "I must admit that there were times when Sammar's explanations to the academic seemed a bit appalling (Shouldn't he already know all this?? And he really doesn't know Arabic?? This latter unfortunat..."I thought Sammar said mean things to Rae, some that she did not really mean, but then her aunt said terrible stuff to her too.
Zanna wrote: "[spoilers removed]"I agree on both points Zanna. Finally I was happy with the ending and I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about Islam. In the West we usually only hear about negative things.
Jalilah wrote: "Melanie wrote: "I must admit that there were times when Sammar's explanations to the academic seemed a bit appalling (Shouldn't he already know all this?? And he really doesn't know Arabic?? This l..."Yes, true, some things about her personality reflected a history of trauma i thought
Jalilah wrote: "Zanna wrote: "[spoilers removed]"I agree on both points Zanna. Finally I was happy with the ending and I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about Islam. In the West we usual..."
I used to live with an Iranian family, so i often find myself trying to correct the astonishing misconceptions British people have about Iran - i consider this a fairly positive use of whiteness, but as this article shows sometimes even whiteness isn't enough protection...
The story about the family with the van is both amazing and sad Zanna! Here is an article and review of Leila Aboulela's new novel The Kindness of Enemies
https://en.qantara.de/content/book-re...
Perhaps we can read it at some point in this group?
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I'd love to read more from her
Middle East/North African Lit
Books mentioned in this topic
The Kindness of Enemies (other topics)The Hearing Trumpet (other topics)
The Hearing Trumpet (other topics)
The Translator (other topics)
All are welcome to join in for reading Leila Aboulela's novel The Translator. This slim volume seems lovely summer reading. The prose is reflective, and yet light-handed. My first impression (having read just over one chapter) is that this will be a quick and enjoyable read. The characters seem believable. I typically do not care for stream of consciousness writing, but it fits this book, and makes for very concise and expressive storytelling.