Month: January 2008

My review of Sinan Antoon’s debut novel, I’jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody, appears in the January 21 issue of The Nation magazine. Here is how it opens:

Legend has it that in the eleventh century, when the very eccentric and possibly demented Caliph El Hakim needed some money, he wrote a letter to the governor of Jerusalem asking that a tax be levied. The governor wrote back that this was impossible–most of the people were poor, many of them monks who lived in caves in Wad er-Rabâbeh. El Hakim asked his scribe to write a letter with the command “Count the men.” Whether the scribe made a mistake or whether the letter was intercepted, no one really knows. But by the time the letter arrived in Jerusalem it read “Castrate the men.” In Arabic, the difference between the two verbs hasaa and khasaa is a single dot.

The history of the Arabic language is full of such tales, in which a dot can change the meaning of a word entirely. In fact, the original Arabic alphabet consisted of consonant letters only, some of which corresponded to multiple sounds.

And it is that aspect of the language that Antoon’s novel exploits, to great literary effect. You can read the review here.

I have two new posts up at Words Without Borders, one in which I discuss some of the literary influences at play in Camara Laye’s The Radiance of the King, and a second one about Toni Morrison’s introduction to the novel. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this novel as much as I did.

I spent the last couple of weeks reading fiction; finishing two pieces that are due to appear in January; preparing syllabi for the two classes I am teaching at UCR this winter; corresponding with friends via email and letters; opening holiday cards and wishing I had the time to write some myself; being mystified at the re-casting of corrupt former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto as a martyr of democracy; meeting my friend C. at a Japanese restaurant that we spent a half an hour trying to find, a place that had no apparent sign or light (my husband began to wonder, as finally we pulled up in front, if a secret handshake would be necessary in order for us to gain admittance); discovering, much to my surprise, a photo of me in an advertisement in the New Yorker; discussing Morocco with a professor of anthropology; catching up on movies (Atonement, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, etc.), cleaning my study and filing away the mountain of papers on my desk; and enjoying a homemade Cuban meal for New Year’s Eve. Happy New Year, everyone.