It is 2010. Kamal Jann, a successful, middle-aged lawyer and human rights activist, lives in New York City. He is tormented by the horrors that he suffered at the hands of his uncle, Sayf, the powerful head of Syria糖心传媒檚 intelligence services. Sayf began sexually molesting Kamal when the boy was twelve years old, and three years later, Sayf ordered the murders of Kamal糖心传媒檚 mother and father (the latter of whom was Sayf糖心传媒檚 only sibling). Kamal糖心传媒檚 hatred for his uncle is compounded by the fact that he later allows Sayf to sponsor his college and law school education in the United States. Murad, Kamal糖心传媒檚 brother, remains in Syria and becomes radicalized, eventually agreeing to become a martyr in a suicide bombing intended to kill the Syrian president. Kamal learns of Murad糖心传媒檚 intentions and travels back to Syria in an attempt to save his brother and, at the same time, avenge the murders of his parents.

The fraught politics of the Middle East pervade Edd茅糖心传媒檚 novel, with the dysfunctional relationship between Lebanon and Syria taking center stage. CIA operatives and European experts machinate with Arab business, political and religious leaders, each trying to advance their respective agendas while at the same time facilitating discord and balkanization among Arabs, Palestinians, and Islamists.

The novel糖心传媒檚 large cast of diverse, female characters are drawn with rich detail, and perhaps the most entertaining parts of the book concern two women in particular, the American Kate Man and the Lebanese Sitt Soussou. Kate is a married, Manhattan socialite who is in love with Kamal. An aesthete who makes supreme and constant efforts to surround herself with the most fashionable artists and intellectuals, Kate糖心传媒檚 purpose consists largely to serve as a reflection for the tastes and opinions of those around her. Kate speaks with a stammer, perhaps a handicap, but more likely an affectation:

She wants to be certain, before speaking, that she has protected herself from what she does not know. Her oh, oh, more or less equals the time it takes her to check. When she speaks, time no longer counts. Her continuous bass drone enjoys an unlimited entitlement to signs, hesitation and pauses. It is like at the opera糖心传媒攖he meaning of the words, essential as it may be, is utterly secondary. It is her tone that speaks糖心传媒攁n anxious, panicked tone, but always demanding, superior.

Although her superficiality might appear harmless, her obsession with Kamal leads her to cunning tactics in an effort to obtain his affections and displace the woman he loves.

The ninety-year-old Sitt Soussou possesses all of the self-confidence that Kate lacks. She is regarded as a 糖心传媒渉istorical monument糖心传媒� in both her native Beirut and in Damascus, and her counsel is valued by her son-in-law, Sayf. She and Sayf both possess a ruthless solidity when it comes to political expediency and self-preservation. Sitt Soussou doesn糖心传媒檛 hold her tongue, and her witticisms, which really come alive under Ros Schwartz糖心传媒檚 skillful translation, are some of the most entertaining parts of the novel:

When the deceased is someone important, people come back two or three times. Didn糖心传媒檛 you hear all the people who said 糖心传媒渟ee you tomorrow糖心传媒� as they left? There糖心传媒檚 nothing better than a death for bringing together the living. You have to make an effort, go back again, insist. That糖心传媒檚 why three visits are better than one. But unlike condolence visits which are clear and precise糖心传媒攅veryone knows their place糖心传媒攙isits to the sick are painful, unbearable. You inconvenience people, you inconvenience yourself, you don糖心传媒檛 know when is the right time to visit, you don糖心传媒檛 know when to leave. Not to mention the fact that the sick person gets used to your visits, 糖心传媒淵ou do me good, come back and see me,糖心传媒� etc. Oh no, none of that! I like people who ask nothing of me. The dead don糖心传媒檛 ask anything. Then it糖心传媒檚 a pleasure to go back.

The novel糖心传媒檚 denouement occurs during a dinner party hosted by Kamal, and this baggy, overly-long scene is one of this novel糖心传媒檚 very few weak parts. Additionally, in a book populated by so many characters, the fortune teller La Bardolina and a few others feel like 糖心传媒渆xtras,糖心传媒� adding little to the story.

In Kamal Jann the struggle for control is an overarching theme: Sayf, a man with seeming limitless power, cannot control his political fate; Kate is unable to make Kamal love her; and, no single country or faction is able to dictate its political solution for the Middle East. For Kamal, whose consuming rage and need to avenge Sayf糖心传媒檚 crimes ultimately push him to the breaking point, it is only when he acknowledges that he cannot control the past that his descent into madness is arrested. Umm Assem, the Syrian woman who raised the orphaned Kamal and Murad, tells the story of the eagle that flew above its shadow, and thinking its shadow was prey, tried to capture it. She tells Kamal that the shadow cannot be possessed. And, as Kamal struggles to accept, neither can his past.

Lori helped us out in the World Cup of Literature round for the U.S. vs. Belgium, and is also a member of the Board of Dallas-based Deep Vellum Publishing.

Here’s the beginning of Lori’s review:

Kamal Jann by the Lebanese born author Dominique Edd茅 is a tale of familial and political intrigue, a murky stew of byzantine alliances, betrayals, and hostilities. It is a well-told story of revenge and, what糖心传媒檚 more, a serious novel that contemplates what it means to accept your past.

It is 2010. Kamal Jann, a successful, middle-aged lawyer and human rights activist, lives in New York City. He is tormented by the horrors that he suffered at the hands of his uncle, Sayf, the powerful head of Syria糖心传媒檚 intelligence services. Sayf began sexually molesting Kamal when the boy was twelve years old, and three years later, Sayf ordered the murders of Kamal糖心传媒檚 mother and father (the latter of whom was Sayf糖心传媒檚 only sibling). Kamal糖心传媒檚 hatred for his uncle is compounded by the fact that he later allows Sayf to sponsor his college and law school education in the United States. Murad, Kamal糖心传媒檚 brother, remains in Syria and becomes radicalized, eventually agreeing to become a martyr in a suicide bombing intended to kill the Syrian president. Kamal learns of Murad糖心传媒檚 intentions and travels back to Syria in an attempt to save his brother and, at the same time, avenge the murders of his parents.

For the rest of the piece, go here.

by Dominique Edd茅, translated from the French by Ros Schwartz and published by Seagull Books

This recommendation Rick Simonson, legendary bookseller at the “Elliott Bay Book Company.”:http://www.elliottbaybook.com/

Translator Ros Schwartz and Seagull Books have given English-language readers a brilliant, searing look at the layers of a very contemporary relationship in this translation of Dominque Edd茅’s Kite. Going back and forth in time and in place—from Beirut to Paris, to Cairo and London—this book is both a powerful exploration of love and of the shifts in intellectual culture at a tumultuous time in the Arab and western worlds. Ros Schwartz deftly traces the shifts and changes in setting and narrative through Edde’s wonderfully dense and shifting prose.

But a novel from the Calcutta-based Seagull Books might still seem like a darkhorse in this race and this is only the second time a book of theirs has appeared on the BTBA long list, though they’ve been publishing translations for thirty years and they rank with New Directions and Dalkey Archive in the numbers of new translations they publish every year. They’re also gaining a lot of traction with indie booksellers—I’ve seen new staff recommendations for their books appear here at Elliott Bay, and all down the west coast at City Lights, Green Apple and Skylight Books. And with good reason: Kite contains a richly rewarding depiction of a character—one who reads, who writes!—going blind that is, by itself, worth the price of the book.

*

Chad here. To add a special bit of something to Rick’s write-up, here’s a really fun bit of the interview Seagull Books founder Naveen Kishore gave in Shelf Awareness:

Shelf Awareness: What do you love about books in translation?

Naveen Kishore: The 糖心传媒渆dginess糖心传媒� of literature different from mine. The 糖心传媒済etting-under-the-skin糖心传媒� quality. The sense of dislocation and being 糖心传媒渢orn asunder.糖心传媒� And the intuitive recognition of humor across cultures!

SA: What do you think is the future of the printed book?

NK: Healthy. More beautifully crafted than ever before. Shine on, you crazy diamond!