What do you think?
Rate this book
محطة السكة الحديد
113 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
45 people want to read
About the author
Edwar al-Kharrat
50 books38 followersEdwar al-Kharrat (or Edward al-Kharrat; Arabic: إدوار الخراط) was an Egyptian translator, writer, and editor of several literary magazines.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 4, 2017
كثرة الصور البلاغية كانت عائق في أحيان كثيرة لتدفق السرد، وتدفق الخيال
August 5, 2020
ملك التفاصيل
يمكن الرواية متعجبش ناس كتير لكن بالعمس خالص رواية بتخليك تفكر كتير
شايفاها رواية سردية ممتعة
يمكن الرواية متعجبش ناس كتير لكن بالعمس خالص رواية بتخليك تفكر كتير
شايفاها رواية سردية ممتعة
August 4, 2022
You know sometimes, there are pieces of writings that, notwithstanding their intention, by their own process and evolution can make a clear synthesis on the craft and nature of writing itself. What can make a piece of literature as such? Why is it relevant? highbrow, lowbrow? What's even the difference? does it even matter? the intentionality of the author and his supposed death à la Roland Barthes and co; is writing just a pleasurable thing or an orientation, une vocation de soi etc...; But most importantly: the evolution of time and the author him/herself and what they are going through that can modify, mutate and change a whole resonance and tone or even nature of a piece of writing that was left unfinished for a very long time then was rewritten again in a later stage of the author's life. Well this novela "The railway station" of Edward Al-Kharrat presents such a case.
The novela begins, in a 20th century high modernism JJ-aka my Irish pretentious boi- à la Dubliners meets the morbidity of Edgar Poe style, as some vignettes of terrible accident that happens to some passengers in the train station. All narrated in the third person. Ok but so you reach to chapter 3 and the narration shifts to the 1st person singular, no biggies maybe it's a change of perspectives in the same train station you think. But wait a minute, you start to know this particular voice, those memories, dreams, fears, obsessions and even characters invoked by the 1st person narrator in his stream of consciousness recollection , and you realize it's a reappearance of Mikhail- aka Edward Al-Kharrat's alter ego- of his autofiction biographical works in the Alexandrian cycle (City of Saffron and Beauties of Alexandria) and the remaining last 3 chapters are just a spiral of his recollections and repressed sense of guilt and struggle with loved ones he hurt in the past, fused with the surreal mishmash of reality and dreams that interject the narration which is probably Al-Kharrat's trademark by now, all happening inside the narrator head while he, yup you guessed it, is stuck in the train station. You reach to the last page and it all make sense now: below he wrote two dates: 1955-1989.
Though the novella has been written two times, and was basically altered (from probably a project of vignettes and their macab experiences inside the station to a return for Alkharrat's autofictional works) but I never felt any inhomogeneity to it. In fact, this bilateral nature of the work made it so unique. But most importantly it made me reflect on the nature of writing itself. What makes a text a text? imbued with meaning and relevance? Why does an author write? A line or a paragraph or even a tone can change/alter the nature of a text completely. There's a magic for unfinished works and the number of possibilities, questions and interpretations they garner, but have you ever considered the intrigue of a rewritten text?
The novela begins, in a 20th century high modernism JJ-aka my Irish pretentious boi- à la Dubliners meets the morbidity of Edgar Poe style, as some vignettes of terrible accident that happens to some passengers in the train station. All narrated in the third person. Ok but so you reach to chapter 3 and the narration shifts to the 1st person singular, no biggies maybe it's a change of perspectives in the same train station you think. But wait a minute, you start to know this particular voice, those memories, dreams, fears, obsessions and even characters invoked by the 1st person narrator in his stream of consciousness recollection , and you realize it's a reappearance of Mikhail- aka Edward Al-Kharrat's alter ego- of his autofiction biographical works in the Alexandrian cycle (City of Saffron and Beauties of Alexandria) and the remaining last 3 chapters are just a spiral of his recollections and repressed sense of guilt and struggle with loved ones he hurt in the past, fused with the surreal mishmash of reality and dreams that interject the narration which is probably Al-Kharrat's trademark by now, all happening inside the narrator head while he, yup you guessed it, is stuck in the train station. You reach to the last page and it all make sense now: below he wrote two dates: 1955-1989.
Though the novella has been written two times, and was basically altered (from probably a project of vignettes and their macab experiences inside the station to a return for Alkharrat's autofictional works) but I never felt any inhomogeneity to it. In fact, this bilateral nature of the work made it so unique. But most importantly it made me reflect on the nature of writing itself. What makes a text a text? imbued with meaning and relevance? Why does an author write? A line or a paragraph or even a tone can change/alter the nature of a text completely. There's a magic for unfinished works and the number of possibilities, questions and interpretations they garner, but have you ever considered the intrigue of a rewritten text?
April 11, 2014
تعريفي للملل في القراءة، هو إنك تكون بتقرا في صفحة وتلاقي نفسك ناسي الكلام اللي قبلها، أي نوع تاني من أنواع الملل مبيعملش كدا ممكن اقراه. الكتاب دا طبعًا مكملتوش!
January 13, 2016
درس تشبيهات بلاغية
ملل
سرد بطيئ
ملل
ذروة أحداث تعبانة
ملل
غلاف سيئ
ملل
لغة قويمة
ملل
اتباع القواعد بشكل قوي
ملل
غياب الروح
ملل
غياب المصداقية
ملل
قصة ممتازة نقديا
ملل
ملل
سرد بطيئ
ملل
ذروة أحداث تعبانة
ملل
غلاف سيئ
ملل
لغة قويمة
ملل
اتباع القواعد بشكل قوي
ملل
غياب الروح
ملل
غياب المصداقية
ملل
قصة ممتازة نقديا
ملل
February 22, 2017
" العناد كاليأس .. لا ينكسر " رواية مجنونة وممكن تخاريف أو هذيان أو خـرافات .. وتقريبا لن تعجب أحد لكنها أعجبتني بحق .. أحيانا تولد اللذة من حطام التابوهات
October 4, 2018
دى مش رواية دة درس بلاغة
وصف ممل وفوق بعضه
البلاط بيلمع...البلاط كتير...البلاط لونه ابيض
كل الرواية شبه بعضها
معجبتنيش
نجمة واحدة
انتهى الرفيو
#الكتاب_رقم_87_لسنة_2018
وصف ممل وفوق بعضه
البلاط بيلمع...البلاط كتير...البلاط لونه ابيض
كل الرواية شبه بعضها
معجبتنيش
نجمة واحدة
انتهى الرفيو
#الكتاب_رقم_87_لسنة_2018
October 26, 2013
ظلت فكرة غريبة مسيطرة على أثناء قراءتي للجزء الاول من القصة.. الفكرة هى أن الكاتب يتحدث على لسان قطة متشردة تعيش داخل محطة السكة الحديد!!
كل ما قراءته يدل على كائن تائه ضائع يتنقل داخل محطة السكة الحديد دون حسيب أو رقيب.. لا يمتلك تذاكر ولا يتحدث مع اي شخص.. مما جعلني أظن أن الكاتب سيروي القصة من منظور قطة أو كلب متشرد... للأسف هذا لم يحدث.. ووجدته تقريبا بعد انقضاء ربع القصة يبدأ في إظهار شخصياته..
قطعا شعرت بالملل الشديد بعد كل هذه الصفحات... الخراط يتفوق على إبراهيم أصلان في الوصف و الاهتمام بادق التفاصيل... و لست في الحقيقة من محبي الوصف المسهب... أفضل أن يكون الوصف أقل استخداما و ان تكون الأحداث أكثر تسارعا من هذا...
كل ما قراءته يدل على كائن تائه ضائع يتنقل داخل محطة السكة الحديد دون حسيب أو رقيب.. لا يمتلك تذاكر ولا يتحدث مع اي شخص.. مما جعلني أظن أن الكاتب سيروي القصة من منظور قطة أو كلب متشرد... للأسف هذا لم يحدث.. ووجدته تقريبا بعد انقضاء ربع القصة يبدأ في إظهار شخصياته..
قطعا شعرت بالملل الشديد بعد كل هذه الصفحات... الخراط يتفوق على إبراهيم أصلان في الوصف و الاهتمام بادق التفاصيل... و لست في الحقيقة من محبي الوصف المسهب... أفضل أن يكون الوصف أقل استخداما و ان تكون الأحداث أكثر تسارعا من هذا...
May 7, 2014
تعبيرات قوية و تشبيهات عميقة ..لكنها ليست ما تمنيت قرائته لادوارد خرّاط..لم يرينى سكندريته بدرجة كافية ..فقط محطة السكة الحديد .
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews