Reviews

One of them books that has you questioning your need to quickly judge, describe (and effectively colonise the knowing/knowledge/ and morality of) a situation/character with few details of a prescribed lens provided. A book that complicates the reader in a colonial reading process, hence situating us all somewhere in its postcolonial continuum.

jasreeel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Mustafa Sa’eed needs therapy.

marc129's review against another edition

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3.0

The narrator, an unnamed Sudanese man, returns to his native village on the Nile after studying literature in England. He is struck by the warm welcome from his tribe, but at the same time feels alienated from traditional life. He becomes intrigued by Moustafa Sa'eed, a man who has settled in his village during his absence, but who, like him, has studied and lived in England. And then there follows a disappearance, a murder and a suicide. Described in this way, this novel seems like a dime a dozen, but the Sudanese author Tayeb Salih (1929-2009) has mixed quite a bit into the cocktail: the struggle with a strange, colonial culture (in this case the English) that simultaneously looks down on traditional African culture, but is also attracted to it; the author's and Moustafa's own struggle with Western modernity, the patriarchal character of Sudanese culture (with its horrific misogyny in the form of imposed clitoral circumcision), the intricacies of postcolonial government, and so on.

This is one of those stories in which the author has done his best to make it as difficult as possible for his reader: Salih tells it in bits and pieces, the narrator and the main character (Moustafa) remain an enigma, and the themes touched on never get out of limbo, they are not really laid down. Intriguing. Hence the many references made in reviews and literary discussions to [b:Heart of Darkness|4900|Heart of Darkness|Joseph Conrad|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392799983l/4900._SX50_.jpg|2877220] by Conrad and [b:L'Étranger|15688|L'Étranger|Albert Camus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1711471767l/15688._SY75_.jpg|3324344] by Camus. And then there are those downright lyrical passages about life in a Sudanese village, and the narrator's scorching journeys through the desert on the way to Khartoum. Even after more than half a century, this novel remains a fascinating read on postcolonial condition. I read a French translation of the Arabic original.

library_bee's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

karmanderofmars's review against another edition

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5.0

This was brutal and beautiful and although I feel like I’ve barely scraped the surface of where this book is coming from, it was an incredible read. The translation was gorgeous and I enjoyed the surreal aspect of it, not necessarily always knowing what is fact or dream. I also enjoyed how it dipped in between a more straightforward plot-line and pieces of imaginative, poetic prose.

dclark32's review against another edition

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3.0

A remarkable novel, though I'm still grappling with it. The prose sparkles, even in translation. It also provides powerful commentary on the colonial experience, with individuals simultaneously elevated above their compatriots but unaccepted by a white society that sees them as other. I am uncertain what to make of the novel's misogyny, however. My reading is that Salih intended to criticize it, in a manner reminiscent of Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart. How it ties into the post-colonial themes, however, I am uncertain. There's also the matter of the conversation including a white economist, whose friendly but critical observations of Africa post-independence I found myself uncertain of how to interpret. In any case, I'm glad to have read this Arabic classic, though I feel like a second reading at a later date, following an expansion of my knowledge of the process of decolonization, would bring greater clarity.

3.5 or 4/5

P.S. Fair warning to the prospective female reader: expect to find matter-of-fact mentions of female circumcision/genital mutilation.

mariah123456's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

hindel's review against another edition

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5.0

ممتعة

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