Latest Review: "As Though She Were Sleeping" by Elias Khoury
The latest addition to our Reviews Section is a piece by Quantum Sarah on Elias Khoury’s As Though She Were Sleeping, which is translated from the Arabic by Marilyn Booth and is available from .
Here is part of her review:
Elias Khoury糖心传媒檚 As Though She Were Sleeping (Archipelago, 2012) is a love story, a family tragedy, and a journey through Levantine cultural history. Considering the radical stance of Khoury糖心传媒檚 other works – notably, Gate of the Sun, the first 糖心传媒渕agnum opus糖心传媒 of the Palestinian people – this novel is a more conservative project. The year is 1946. Milia, an apolitical Beiruti dreamer, leads a 糖心传媒渄ouble life糖心传媒: by inhabiting her dreams as fully as her waking life, she can speak with the dead and prophesy the future. Mansour, her wayward Palestinian husband, flees the harsh reality of his country by burying himself in sensual pleasures: ancient poetry, Milia糖心传媒檚 beauty, and Levantine cuisine. As political turmoil in the region escalates, Milia finds herself increasingly trapped by impending catastrophe and fears for her newly-conceived child. To cope, she turns to the dream world for insight, trekking backward and forward in time to converse with deceased family members and saints.
As Khoury explores Milia糖心传媒檚 life and dreams, he points to the many paradoxes of living in the 糖心传媒渉oly land.糖心传媒 After all, this is the same soil where Cain murdered Abel. Its inhabitants inherit not just a rich cultural tradition, but also a dark and complicated legacy of madness. Mansour discovers that 糖心传媒. . . he had begun to loathe this land in which he lived. Can anyone truly live in a country saturated with legends and miracles and prophets? This is a country that drives anyone who lives here insane, he would think糖心传媒 (241). And Milia becomes increasingly obsessed with the fantastic tradition of fathers killing sons. Abraham planned to slaughter Isaac; God sacrificed Jesus; Milia糖心传媒檚 grandfather Salim nearly murdered his only son with a thrown rock. Will Milia糖心传媒檚 son be next?
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