My pick for Lebanon was "The Rock of Tanios" by the award winning writer Amin Maalouf. Set in the late 1800s when you have a number of powers jostling for prime position in the Middle East - the Turks, Egyptians and the British and the French, the novel takes one historical event and spins a fascinating fictional story around it.
The story is told by a modern day narrator who grew up in the village of Kfaryabda, where he recalls not climbing one particular rock - the rock of Tanios. Legend has it that Tanios, the wise fool whose hair turned white when he was 15, was last seen sitting on that rock gazing at the sea. The narrator reconstructs the legend of Tanios with the help of the old man Gebrayel, a book called The Mountain Chronicle, the notes of Rev.Stolton who ran the Protestant school in Kfaryabda and the writings of the peddler Nadeer to whom Tanios first revealed his love for Asma.
Kfaryabda is a small insignificant village which finds itself an unexpected stage for major political action. The hero of the novel is the young teenager Tanios who although the illegitimate son of the Catholic Sheikh is sent to a school run by a Protestant preacher in the village along with the Sheikh's legitimate son, a simple act that has major political ramifications. Tanios who is outraged by his illegitimate status and the subservient ways of his "adoptive" father Gerios the right hand man of the Sheikh views the Protestant school as his escape route from a life of servitude. When Tanios fails to win the hand of the girl he loves on account of his low status, Gerios in an effort to regain the respect of his son assassinates the local Patriarch who he holds responsible for Tanios' fate.
Gerios and Tanios escape to Cyrpus where Gerios is captured and later killed by the Emir's spies. Tanios finds himself recruited by English spies who use him as a diplomatic mediator with the Emir. Tanios displays leniency and diplomacy in the way he deals with the Emir in an attempt to break from the cycle of violence that has plagued the region. He returns to Kfaryabda as a triumphant local hero ready to take his rightful place as the Sheikh's successor, surprised to find that his heart was not set on it.
The book is a fantastic read, once you get a hang of the politics. It is lyrical, intriguing yet leisurely paced. Day to day petty quarrels, family discords are contrasted with big political machinations. Caught between two fathers, two women, two political powers, no wonder Tanios' hair turns white at 15! What does it mean to be forced to leave your country, how does it feel to be wronged for no fault of yours, how do you break the cycle of revenge, of servitude, what does it mean to be a man, a leader, and how do you evolve your unique identity in an era where conformism is the norm ? The book raises all these questions without weighing down the reader.
The story is told by a modern day narrator who grew up in the village of Kfaryabda, where he recalls not climbing one particular rock - the rock of Tanios. Legend has it that Tanios, the wise fool whose hair turned white when he was 15, was last seen sitting on that rock gazing at the sea. The narrator reconstructs the legend of Tanios with the help of the old man Gebrayel, a book called The Mountain Chronicle, the notes of Rev.Stolton who ran the Protestant school in Kfaryabda and the writings of the peddler Nadeer to whom Tanios first revealed his love for Asma.
Kfaryabda is a small insignificant village which finds itself an unexpected stage for major political action. The hero of the novel is the young teenager Tanios who although the illegitimate son of the Catholic Sheikh is sent to a school run by a Protestant preacher in the village along with the Sheikh's legitimate son, a simple act that has major political ramifications. Tanios who is outraged by his illegitimate status and the subservient ways of his "adoptive" father Gerios the right hand man of the Sheikh views the Protestant school as his escape route from a life of servitude. When Tanios fails to win the hand of the girl he loves on account of his low status, Gerios in an effort to regain the respect of his son assassinates the local Patriarch who he holds responsible for Tanios' fate.
Gerios and Tanios escape to Cyrpus where Gerios is captured and later killed by the Emir's spies. Tanios finds himself recruited by English spies who use him as a diplomatic mediator with the Emir. Tanios displays leniency and diplomacy in the way he deals with the Emir in an attempt to break from the cycle of violence that has plagued the region. He returns to Kfaryabda as a triumphant local hero ready to take his rightful place as the Sheikh's successor, surprised to find that his heart was not set on it.
The book is a fantastic read, once you get a hang of the politics. It is lyrical, intriguing yet leisurely paced. Day to day petty quarrels, family discords are contrasted with big political machinations. Caught between two fathers, two women, two political powers, no wonder Tanios' hair turns white at 15! What does it mean to be forced to leave your country, how does it feel to be wronged for no fault of yours, how do you break the cycle of revenge, of servitude, what does it mean to be a man, a leader, and how do you evolve your unique identity in an era where conformism is the norm ? The book raises all these questions without weighing down the reader.
