fred312's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
yonky's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
kiriamarin's review against another edition
Não estou 100% famiarizados com alguns fatos históricos desta narrativa ficional sobre a vida de al-Hassan ibn Muhammad al-Wazan ou Leão, o Africano,nascido na Andaluzia, um viajante por terras africanas e mediterrânea que é sequestrado por piratas genoveses e levado a Europa e "adotado por Papa Leão X. Ele conta sua estoria do nascimento à morte e seu envolvimento em fatos e conflitos políticos de uma época turbulenta. O fio narrativo é personagens que o torna "herói" me pareceu simples demais,sem camadas e com resoluções
fáceis, porem facilita a leitura mesmo para leigos em História. O autor mostra seu conhecimento historico na descrição de lugares e época, um ponto interessante da obra embora o lado humano nem tanto.
fáceis, porem facilita a leitura mesmo para leigos em História. O autor mostra seu conhecimento historico na descrição de lugares e época, um ponto interessante da obra embora o lado humano nem tanto.
nucleareaction's review against another edition
4.0
A fun romp through quite turbulent times. A bit on the Orientalist side, but it counts - according to Said - because it was written by an Arab.
ronanmcd's review against another edition
5.0
I love Maalouf's books. He is a master of a rich picaresque form of historical fiction. This is the earliest one of his I've read and is a little rougher than Balthazar's and Samarkand. But it's still wonderful.
The narrator is agnostic, falling through life at a time of religious and social upheaval. You can never really like him, desire being a product of his time. He takes his wife's virginity as she sleeps, he owns a slave with whom he has a sexual relationship and he abandons several families and children. This complexity makes it all the more readable, and it is based on a real life person.
The narrator is agnostic, falling through life at a time of religious and social upheaval. You can never really like him, desire being a product of his time. He takes his wife's virginity as she sleeps, he owns a slave with whom he has a sexual relationship and he abandons several families and children. This complexity makes it all the more readable, and it is based on a real life person.
tneffati_7's review against another edition
5.0
"Qu'elle était familière, la mort, que l'exil était proche, que les joies du passé étaient cruelles au souvenir!"
"Grenade, nulle cité ne te ressemble
Ni en Égypte, ni en Syrie, ni en Irak,
C'est toi la mariée,
Et ces pays ne sont que ta dot."
"Pendant huit siècles, nous avons illuminé cette terre se notre savoir, mais notre soleil est à l'heure de l'éclipse, et tout devient sombre."
"Au moment où il traversait le dernier col, d'où il pouvait encore voir Grenade, il resta un long moment immobile, leregard trouble et l'esprit figé dans la torpeur; les Castillans appelèrent ce lieu l'《ultime soupir du Maure》, car le sultan déchu y avait versé, dit-on, quelques larmes, de honte et de remords. 《Tu pleures comme une femme un royaume que tu n'as pas su défendre comme un homme!》"
"Je ne te souhaite pas d'avoir l'intélligence, car tu devras la mettre au service des puissants; je te souhaite la chance, pour que les gens intélligents soient à ton service."
"Il faut que tu retrouves en toi-même le temps de l'ignorance, car c'était aussi le temps temps du courage."
"Grenade, nulle cité ne te ressemble
Ni en Égypte, ni en Syrie, ni en Irak,
C'est toi la mariée,
Et ces pays ne sont que ta dot."
"Pendant huit siècles, nous avons illuminé cette terre se notre savoir, mais notre soleil est à l'heure de l'éclipse, et tout devient sombre."
"Au moment où il traversait le dernier col, d'où il pouvait encore voir Grenade, il resta un long moment immobile, leregard trouble et l'esprit figé dans la torpeur; les Castillans appelèrent ce lieu l'《ultime soupir du Maure》, car le sultan déchu y avait versé, dit-on, quelques larmes, de honte et de remords. 《Tu pleures comme une femme un royaume que tu n'as pas su défendre comme un homme!》"
"Je ne te souhaite pas d'avoir l'intélligence, car tu devras la mettre au service des puissants; je te souhaite la chance, pour que les gens intélligents soient à ton service."
"Il faut que tu retrouves en toi-même le temps de l'ignorance, car c'était aussi le temps temps du courage."
tacuazin's review against another edition
5.0
My five stars go to the best first page I've ever read. The rest of the book is not as good, in my opinion, but those first paragraphs always manage to move me.
taha_faouz's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0