by BARBARA NIMRI AZIZ
Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006) PHOTO/Wikipedia
Thankfully, browsing bookshelves still can be an adventure.
There’s no end to new books worth reading, and those of us who enjoy literature constantly add to our ‘must-read’ list. Best sellers compete for our leisure hours; literary prizes point us to new talent. It’s hard to keep abreast. But rather than prepare myself for conversations about this year’s Nobel author (Patrick Modiano) my hand rests at a volume by 1988 Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz.
Hmm; how did I miss this? “The Journey of Ibn Fattouma” by the acclaimed Egyptian writer is new to me. Eclipsed by Mahfouz’s popular Cairo series and missing from many online biographies, here is an overlooked masterpiece. So timely. This simple parable resonates poignantly as we innocent mortals traverse our 2014 world of endless wars.
The universal relevance of Mahfouz’s 1983, “The Journey…” is surely affirmation of his genius as a writer and political philosopher.
Layers of morality thread through this short yet complex story: there are traveler-merchants, protected and untouched, journeying through a series of cultures and wars, profiting as they proceed, unconcerned with conflicts underway or any suffering they witness. They glide amorally onto their next marketplace. (For me, together with family protocols, they are Mahfouz’ primary target for criticism.) Accompanying the travelers is Qindil, a young man who left home after betrayal by his teacher and his family. He shares his companions’ immunity but he is curious. So he dallies. Doing so, he encounters manifestations of justice and freedom.
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