Saturday, December 09, 2006

Ishmaël ou l’exil (for my francophone audience ) : my ode to Love

I'm currently reading a literary style novel in French by Egytian /Moroccan author Zaghloul Morsy .
"Ishmaël ou l’exil" is the love story between Hussayn and Sylvia ( respectively Arab and Jew) in 60s Morocco with the background of the cold war, Israeli -Palestinian issue and all the problems that affect the Middle East/North Africa arena, but not only politics the social too. I have not finished it yet , but so far I can say that it is deep and the prose is beautiful (sounds corny eh ? )It is filled with superimposed symbolism and parables . The novel is an internal journey within a real journey to recount what happened . Are you confused ? I am a bit as well , but see you have to undersand the legend of Quetzalcoatl and immerse yourself .

A review here :

"Et c’est là, en grande partie, la richesse de ce beau livre dont l’écriture a
nécessité plus de dix ans de travail. Orienté à la fois vers les idées et vers les personnages, se présente à la fois comme l’histoire d’un amour impossible et comme un roman de critique sociale."



This guy is talented , I wonder how I never came accross his writing ? maybe because this is his first novel ( 2003). Anyway here is my favourite excerpt , part of Hussayn's dream enjoy :

"[..] Kid, visage et corps face au ciel, et moi gravitant autor d'elle, comme une phalene aimanter, deporte et a nouveau reaimante par le ruisselant feu follet sous la lumiere d'un soleil lactescent et lointain/desormais, chacun de mes gestes etait empreint d'une lenteur compassee comme pour contenir la violence du desir ou peut-etre pour le sacraliser de sorte que le rituel de l'etreinte, s'il se realise, s'accomplirait dans une angoisse sereine et la pulsation assourdissante de tout l'etre, chaque elan, chaque mouvement portant en eux la densite, la lenteur nostalgique de tous ceux qui on precedes, s'appesantissant sur le moindre signe, moins par intention deliberee que par le pressentiment de l'imminence d'un engouffrement ou les etres reel ou chimeriques, les paysages traverses, l'aventure vecue ou revee et tout ce qui avait fait chaque partenaire du couple se qu'il etait, allaients s'abolir/nous n'etious plus que deux corps nuptiaux, immacules , suscitant dans l'eau feerique, comme deux danaides ivres, eperdues , tournoyant lentement, ailes deployees, dans le halo incandescent de leur soif de vertige [..] " ( page 12 NB I have no French keyboard).

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know this writer yet, (not much time to read books) it seems he is in the romantic tradition of french litterature. not very much in by nowadays ; editors run after the lucrative success like in every capitalistic countries.

but we are grateful to the ancient francophone countries to enlight our cultural background with their emotions and spirit, in a way they renew ours too.

till yet love is a big deal in french litterature, movies... phantasm make a real part of our life and it gives us the access to devine, that is why our both cultures are close, and that is why too that our magreb immigration find her way in ours, despite what the media show off, only focusing on scoops ; the majority feel confortable, and I hope soon will increase our potential

anyway, I'll keep the reference for my times off

Highlander said...

Thanks Nomad ,it is quasi poetic his work. I'm sure you will love it. Yes francophone countries have a soft spot for France :) and can enrich it and vice versa.
Love is a big deal in Arab litterature as well still. Have you read Malek Chebel ? "Le livre des seductions" superb gives you such an insight into Arab relationships . Problem with people is that they don't read beyond scoops and don't see beyond their noses.

Anonymous said...

not yet, but I have seen the man a few times on TV, vs Tarik Ramadan ; his book goes to the antipodes of fondamentalism islam, quite a discover for us !

Anonymous said...

by the ways do you know Azouz Begag (I don't remember how to spell his name, but the phonetic is ok), he is part of our government staff as a minister of social cohesion ; he is a very funny an clever guy, a writer too !

when journalists ask him what is about his ministere, is it about to appease the surburbs or anyhow ?
he says his work consists of dealing with women rights, elderers rights to find a job and eventually for the youngs in the surburbs to find a job ! and actually he is having some successes ; enterprises signed a project with his association, and many people do really find a job ; but he says too that more than 5000 jobs available can't find appliants, cause the people experience don't fit them,

I'd like to watch more people like him than the remanent discourses on the surburbs

Anonymous said...

Shame, those of us who do not cowered can not read the post. :)

Tell me why do you make happys with the people who marytyrd my role model(Lalla Fatma n Soumer), and my people? Why do you make happy with the vermin who spilled rivers of Imazighen blood? Why do engage with these genocidal terrorist, even their nuns, their holy women for goods sake participate in the killings of babies in Rawanda.

As a Imazighen/American I am deeply shocked and saddened by this. :)

Support Bill O'reily Boycott the Frenchies!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

"...in the incandescent halo of their thirst for vertigo."

Hmmm, and that is just a fraction of a sentence, I am afraid the whole text is a bit overloaded for me. I mean I like my cake with sugar & cream, but more and more of it is not necessarily an improvement:)

As for the Libyan with many names: well dude this writer is not French is he? What should we do, ban the the French language?

Anonymous said...

"Libyan with many names"

This sounds like Dingbat language?

Are you highlanders special childhood friend by any chance?

Highlander said...

Hi Nomad , no I did not hear about the Azouz , but he seems to be doing good work.

Adam :P no oh come on it's not like you are imagining , this book is not a romance story it's literature :) , the poetic stuff are description of his dreams and in this part specifically he was depicting physical lovemaking as a symbolisim for melting into each other's soul - I tell you my friend it is full of layers which one needs to uncover.


LW, Adam is actually my friend in real life. I would have loved to have him as a childhood friend as well. I speak several languages LW and this is my blog so I can post anyway I want!

Anonymous said...

actually the real title of AB's fonction is "Ministre délégué à la promotion de l'égalité des chances"
a link :AB biography

seems he is in frozen mood with Sarko, (yet he is de Villepin discover :lol:)

Anonymous said...

LW and this is my blog so I can post anyway I want!

DAMN STRAIGHT.

Dude Libyan Chicks with Attitude roCK!!!

To Bad their arent more out their
:(