I was out to dinner with some friends last year and two of them had just seen Bertolucci’s film adaptation of Paul Bowles’ “The Sheltering Sky.” They were having a debate over whether it was Orientalist or not. I haven’t seen the film, but I’d read the first half of the novel and their discussion made me pick it up again and finish it.
Very nice, long, mixed review from James Woods at the New Yorker of a new novel by Shahriar Mandanipour entitled ”Censoring an Iranian Love Story.” The author makes the censorship process part of the book’s subject, including a censored version of the love story (with words crossed out but legible) and an uncensored commentary by the author. As Woods writes:
“Censoring an Iranian Love Story” is not simply prohibited by censorship but made by it. For Mandanipour, the censor is a kind of co-writer of the book, and he appears often in this novel, under the alias of Porfiry Petrovich (the detective who chases Dostoyevsky’s Raskolnikov). We see him squabbling with Mandanipour, chatting to another Iranian writer, plotting alternative stories for Dara and Sara, striking out offensive phrases, and finally falling in love with Sara. He is a heavy presence in the novel, and is both creator and critic; the writer is always anticipating the imagination of prohibition even as he tries to outwit it. Even more interesting, the writer, in this situation, becomes his characters; he wants what they want. Their freedom is bound up with his.
But ultimately, the post-modernism and politics of the book seem to devolve into heavy-handedness.
Words Without Borders gives a very positive review to a debut novel written from the point of view of a young Lebanese girl during the Civil War, by the Lebanese-British author Nathalie ABi-Ezzi. As the reviewer points out, “to construct a compelling narrative with only a linguistically-limited and innocent voice as a conduit is a daunting challenge, one which few novelists have taken up and still fewer pulled off successfully.” The best example I can think of is Henry James’ brilliant What Maisie Knew, the story of her parents’ divorce–and subsequent affairs and marriages–from the confused point of view of young Maisie.
I just finished reading Patrick French’s biography of V.S. Naipaul, “The World Is What It Is.” It’s a very finely written, insightful and astoundingly unflattering portrayal. Naipaul gave French access to personal correspondence and above all to his dead wife’s journals, which chronicle how he slowly and successfully shattered her already low self-esteem. We also learn about Naipaul’s mistreatment of his mistress, his cheapness (he always had his volunteer guides in whatever Third World country he was writing about pick up the tab), and his pettiness towards other writers.
Like many, I think, I’ve been watching the footage of the massive demonstrations and state brutality and the internet updates (Now here’s a real use for Twitter, to put all the banal, compulsive over-sharing of politicians and correspondents to shame) coming out of Iran over the last few days. It’s all worrying and exciting and very confusing to me–how and to what extent were the elections rigged? Is there any chance that this outpouring of indignation will have an effect?
I do think President Obama struck the right tone. Since we are (thankfully) not currently planning on bombing and invading Iran, there is no point is making strident ultimatums or threats–they will just be used by the clerical regime to tar their opponents; they’re already accusing the U.S. of interference.
Interesting first-person essay in the Daily News Egypt (which jives with a few other anecdotes I’ve heard) about how swine flu hysteria–I know it’s a serious health threat, but the reaction has been out of proportion–is affecting the treatment of foreigners in Cairo. I also read in the Egyptian press today that Saudi Arabia may not allow pilgrims from countries where cases have been found to come to Mecca this year.
It appears that Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni’s bid to be the next head of UNESCO has been derailed, or at least seriously damaged. I agree that it would be disgraceful for him to be made head of the cultural institution–but for entirely different reasons than those mentioned so far.
Excellent new edition of Words Without Borders, featuring Pakistani literature. I haven’t read all the pieces yet, but the ones I have were great.
June 2nd I moved back to Cairo from New York. Despite all of New York’s attractions, it’s a move I’ve been looking forward to with anticipation–I’ve missed my home, my work, my future husband, and my friends.
I hear there’s been lovely, temperate weather the last month, but by the time I arrived the city was already broiling. The blooming flamboyants–the flame trees, my favourite trees here–with their feathery leaves and masses of blood-orange blossoms, seem to actually be catching fire under the sun. But I don’t mind the heat–it’s familiar, and everything familiar is pleasurable right now.
I got here just ahead of Obama. I walked around Cairo’s eerily empty streets, watched the speech on TV in my neighborhood awha, and did a short radio piece on it you can listen to here. Audiences here–as audiences the world over–were impressed with the new American president; they’re disposed to like him. (A few of the ahwa patrons watching the speech were particularly impressed by his Koranic quotations and by his apparent enjoyment of his visit to the Sultan Hassan mosque). But everyone wants to see what he’ll actually do next.
The Literary Saloon reports on the SECOND time the Israelis have shut down events at the beleaguered Palestinian Literature Festival (you can read about the first one here), and makes the obvious point:
From here — admittedly very, very far away — PalFest looks like an admirable attempt to promote culture and dialogue — activity that is, in a way, of course political, but surely not in the (negative) way implied in the crack-down excuse –, and from here the actions by the Israeli government look pretty outrageous. Maybe they have good reasons for the police interference; what astonishes me is that they don’t even seem to have to worry about explaining themselves, or any bad PR. Other than what are probably considered outlets that are on the fringe or to be in the other camp anyway no one seems to much care what they’ve done, or why.