Το δισάκι

by Bahíyyih Nakhjavání, Αθανασία Βεκιαρέλλη (Translator)

Αραβική έρημος... Κάπου στα τέλη του 19ου αιώνα... Ένας κλέφτης, ένα δισάκι... εννιά άνθρωποι στο ραντεβού με το πεπρωμένο και το θάνατο.

Το δισάκι είναι μια ιστορία αλλεπάλληλων υποσχέσεων και απογοητεύσεων, που ξεδιπλώνεται στα μέσα του 19ου αιώνα με πρωταγωνιστές εννιά διαφορετικά άτομα που ταξιδεύουν στην έρημο μεταξύ Μέκκας και Μεδίνας. Ο καθένας τους, όταν έρχεται αντιμέτωπος με ένα μυστηριώδες δισάκι, μεταβάλλεται. Όταν ο Κλέφτης το αρπάζει από έναν Προσκυνητή, μοιάζει κοινό ταξιδιωτικό δισάκι. Ποιο είναι, όμως, το περιεχόμενό του, τόσο πολύτιμο και ισχυρό, που μπορεί από αυτό να προέλθει ο θάνατος ή η χαρά, ο όλεθρος ή η σωτηρία;

Μέσα σε είκοσι τέσσερις ώρες από τη στιγμή που κλέβουν το δισάκι, οι ζωές των ανθρώπων που έρχονται σε επαφή μαζί του συνυφαίνονται για να δημιουργήσουν μια κυκλική και ατέρμονη ιστορία. Με κάθε υφάδι της ιστορίας ένας άλλος κόμπος λύνεται, μια άλλη ζωή αναλύεται στο Δρόμο του Μεταξιού, στην Κίνα, στην Ινδία, στο Ιράν και στην Κωνσταντινούπολη ακόμη και στο Λονδίνο.

Genres: Fiction, Iran, Middle East, Historical Fiction, Literature, Womens, Religion

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Bahiyyih Nakhjavání is a Persian writer educated in the United Kingdom and the United States. After teaching literature at universities in North America and Europe, she came to live in France where she has been conducting workshops in creative writing/reading for the past decade. Bahiyyih Nakhjavání's books, both fiction and non-fiction, have been translated into many languages. In 2007, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Liège.

Reviews

[Kalliope · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I finished this novel for a moment I thought that, may be, it had been originally contained in the Saddlebag on which it was based, for its contents had been dispersed in the wide world. One of items could have ended up in my library.

But mulling over it, I realized that no, it could not have been. It is not written in Persian, its paper is not pale blue and the script is printed rather than handwritten in a spidery hand.

Instead I could understand the novel as another Saddlebag. For after all it is bundle of writings with wisdom written over them. I mean neither wisdom in the moral boring sense, nor the wisdom that remains sterile because it is not listened to. But literary wisdom: Nakhjavani’s writing outshines.

The novel is loaded with imagery and it is always evocative and suggestive. It creates the landscapes and paints different vistas, it plays the sounds of the cacophony of the languages spoken, it prays to different religions, it conjures sensations and empathetic feelings of a wide specter, it evaluates various philosophical thoughts, and it makes you smile.

The imagery is so fertile that it invites the reader to conjure up her own trying to condense how it feels reading this novel. Several came to me. The structure of complementing episodes made me think of orange segments. All literary and exotically juicy. But the way the actual writing captivated me seemed as if the reading were like flying onto a web tissued by a an enchanting spider, because the lines stuck to my skin, or to my eyes. They had to continue reading and those lines or threads, all connected, captivated me irremediably more and more.

But the novel is better than that. The interconnection is more complex than an uniform web. Each episode changes not just the protagonist, but also the tone, and the viewpoint, and the story, and the outlook on life. And by the time one comes to the end and can see how all the parts integrate with each other one wonders how could Nakhjavani have done it so fittingly well considering the varying and complex shape of each and of the whole.

This Saddlebag of a novel induces pure delight as if it were a literary flower.

For if I was a seeker, there was not a single moment in which I was a doubter.

[Rowena · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Within seconds he was isolated in cones of whirling sand. And centuries ensued. The mute and muffled sun gave him no sense of passing time. The particles of sand surged and coalesced in tidal waves around him and beat upon him like a gong.”

This book takes us on a journey across the desert along the Mecca-Medina pilgrimage route, and introduces us to a vast array of characters, such as a thief, chieftain, moneylender, and a bride. I loved the idea of the desert as a sort of character in all the stories, and the intertwining tales that showed me the secret thoughts of all kinds of people. The mixture of religions and cultures represented was also interesting in terms of the interactions the people had with each other. From the little I know about the Ba’hai faith, the philosophical content of the book seems to be in line with Ba’hai teachings.

I found the portrayal of women in this book very interesting, especially the Black slave from Abyssinia. I saw the fear men often have of women and it was intriguing and amusing at times.

I have a soft spot for fairytales and fables, and also stories told from different perspectives, so this was the perfect read for me. It was a wonderful read full of surprises,a fable with so many poetic insights and lessons learned. Highly recommended.

[Fionnuala]

I read this beautifully written tale more than a decade ago but I still have many of the images from it in my mind, the caravan making its way across the sands, the leather satchel full of mysterious writing, but most of all, I remember the wonderful troupe of characters who display many facets of humanity from sublime innocence through to supreme wisdom.

I’ve since read the author’s other novels, Paper, The Woman Who Read too Much and Us & Them; each is like a beautifully decorated leather satchel full of writing gems.

[James Barker · Rating 2 out of 5]

In ‘The Saddlebag’ the Iranian writer Bahiyyih Nakhjavani concerns herself with the changes wrought on nine people as they navigate the treacherous desert paths, pilgrimage and trade routes between Mecca and Medina. Part Canterbury Tales, part Accordion Crimes, this intricately woven work intends to offer insights and advice like the finest fables of old.

It is, without a doubt, a brave undertaking. Wearing its heart on its sleeve it is unafraid to consider the great themes of life from universality to belief systems (with all their wonky distinctions), births to deaths, love to hate. With its intricate structure it considers the same characters from different viewpoints, thus multiplying the numbers involved as if the action takes place in a land of many (warped, fairground) mirrors. This is a world of mysticism, of messages, a world of fate etched out in trails that could just as well match the lines on the palm of hands.

It is so richly the sort of thing I thought I would like that I spent a long time during the read and after it wondering if I had failed the book, because I didn’t enjoy much of it. It seemed to tread that no-man’s-land between Paulo Coehlo in ‘The Alchemist’ and Kahlil Gibran’s ‘The Prophet’- that spiritual place that I would run from, a land where messages are stated rather than found and where readers aren’t really necessary. I found it repetitive and overwritten; its intricacies bored me. Its mysticism was the sort filled with hot, desert air. Certain sentences sounded pretty enough but seemed to have bartered away their comprehension as a pay-off.

In time I came to the conclusion that I had not failed the book and the book had not failed me. It is simply not my (saddle) bag.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book’s premise is fairly simple and obvious: a day in the life of nine characters, from whose individual perspectives the story is told, is forever entwined in the mysterious contents of a saddlebag. Stolen by a Bedouin thief from a seemingly wealthy merchant while performing his ablutions before kneeling in prayer, the saddlebag passes through the hands and lives of the chieftan, bride, moneychanger, slave, pilgrim, priest, dervish, and the corpse, bestowing upon each some miracle of eternal wisdom and/or salvation.

Each chapter, which I think could stand alone and still contain a strong message and storyline, narrates the haunting background of one of the characters while explaining how each interprets the meaning of the event that moves the plot along. Not one of the characters is without the proverbial sin; each is flawed either physically or morally or both, which Nakhjavani balances, however, with a character’s redeeming act, virtuous past or divine consciousness that blows in with the sandstorm – a life (or death)-defining moment for all of them.

Nakhjavani’s imagery is really the main character in “The Saddlebag”, which is full of breathtaking descriptions and cliche-less imagery.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a piece of literature whose beauty literally made me want to cry – no joke. I thank my good friend Kurt, an American neighbor from California with whom I’ve formed my own little, informal book club, for lending me this treasure, and I would recommend that you read it, too.

[Alessandra Anyzewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nos primeiros capítulos fiquei muito empolgada com os personagens desse livro! Cada personagem contando a mesma história sob um ponto de vista diferente, unidos em torno de um objeto (o alforje) é genial. E ainda o fato da história se passar no deserto, ambiente inóspito e rota de peregrinação religiosa, monta o ambiente mais provocativo possível em termos de misturar o místico/religioso com o ser humano bicho. A forma de ela escrever, apesar das muitas referências ao mundo árabe, é muito clara, fluida e ao mesmo tempo profunda. Com o passar da leitura fui perdendo ritmo. Não tenho certeza se é porque os últimos capítulos são de personagens mais secundários ou se é por uma ignorância minha mesmo em relação ao contexto em que a história se passa. O último capítulo em especial, fiquei imensamente decepcionada. Não entendi nada, justamente no grand finale! Apesar disso, é um livro que recomendo muitíssimo e que leria novamente com certeza.

[Adriana Scarpin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ao ler esse livro tive no pensamento uma constante ânsia de que se todos fossem leitores inveterados o mundo seria tão extraordinariamente melhor que nem sei, não que este seja um daqueles insuportáveis livros edificantes mal escritos que abarrotam as livrarias por aí, é a multiplicidade da narrativa de Bahiyyih Nakhjavani que sucitam tais questões, ela é tão feliz em alinhavar culturas, religiões e personalidades diferentes com suas falhas e seus desejos que é impossível você não enxergar o ser humano de uma forma mais humanizada que é o que a boa literatura traz de melhor. Somando a isso o estilo de sua prosa que parece ter sido extraída diretamente do século XIX, nós temos aqui uma obra deveras interessante.
Plus: Adorei o o "odorama" que veio como mimo da TAG, mais livros deveriam proporcionar tal experiência, só senti falta de alguma coisa que cheirasse a cadáver para incrementar a experiência. Rá!

[Lorrane Fortunato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Estou sem palavras. Um dos melhores que já li na vida.

[Nickolas B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο είναι ένα ψηφιδωτό από τις παραδόσεις της Ανατολής, ένας συνδυασμός των παραμυθιών της Χαλιμάς με την όμορφη και σύγχρονη αφήγηση της Ιρανής συγγραφέως...

Οι ζωές και οι τύχες 9 ανθρώπων συνδέονται με ένα δισάκι. Ένα δισάκι που κανείς δεν μπορεί ακριβώς να καταλάβει πιο ακριβώς είναι το περιεχόμενο του και πως καθορίζει τις μοίρες των ανθρώπων...

4/5*

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

This is one of the rare works I read within a month of acquiring it, which is laughably fast compared to my average reading turnover of perhaps three to five years. Reviews, if rather distanced ones, certainly played their part in such a hasty commitment, as did my growing weariness with my current itinerary of reads meant to last me the rest of 2021, more than plentiful enough to allow for such but still tediously monotonous in their appearance if mulled over for too long a period. All this intersected with the state of my library when it comes to works by women of color, whose qualities have certainly delivered but whose quantities haven't benefited nearly as much as the rest of my collection has from the years I've spent on this site, thus necessitating I continue to be exceedingly free with my acquisitions lest I find myself grasping at straws when it comes to maintaining a decent balance in my reading intake at any particular point in time. So, when this particular piece showed up, not only with its rather high lauding but also with its Persian and its Iran and its Farsi all promising a singular level of credibility in the wider scheme of contemporary literature, I was more than a little excited. In finishing it, I acknowledge that it was certainly refreshingly different in terms of its historical fiction focus and did its best to infuse the narrative with the delicious complexities of a bevy of realities far beyond the usual tepid "Caucasian" norm, but it was a tall order to fit in so much in less than 300 pages without veering either towards toweringly erudite or simplistically facile, and the author's choice of the latter was not my cup of tea. An enjoyable read, to be certain, but if it had centered itself a tad more and forgone some of the more far flung instances of vagueness for a single, satisfyingly entrenched narrative, it would have been the stronger for it.

Some may say Chaucer, others Akutagawa, still others a name that doesn't come as readily to my mind. Whatever the specification, this work is the case of a journey as well as a story told many times over, running the course in order of Thief, Bride, Chieftain, Moneychanger, Slave, Pilgrim, Priest, Dervish, and Corpse. The structure holds its own unique fascination as not quite linearity, not quite short story cycle, but also runs the risk of uneven levels of quality when it comes to the various points of view, especially when the tales, for all their "exotic" multiplicities, can't refrain from following rather predictable trajectories. So, while the glossary is rather satisfyingly broad in scope and incisive in reference, it's not surprising which character arcs get enough investment to justify having an entire novel to themselves and which ones, for all their sociocultural grounding, are little more than linchpins in another's development. There's also the matter of how this work intentionally invokes at least seven significant denominations of faith that, together, likely comprise 90-95% of the current population of religious adherents, and yet, forgoes them in favor of some earth mother, primordial soup of generously, but weakly, defined measures of feel-goodness and other symptoms of those with a 'Coexist' sticker on their bumper. So, this piece certainly had more intellectual grit to it than most work that gets its particular kind of marketing during this particular century, but the times in which its rhetoric lowered to the level of fortune cookie/horoscope level of profoundly stated but ultimately equivocatingly empty generalities was too often for my tastes. Perhaps a firming up of the discursions on the more ironclad characteristics of the various belief systems that in some way acknowledged that they hadn't persisted for millennia out of a vague sense of kumbaya would've scared off some of the target audience, but it ultimately makes a significant difference in terms of a work's legacy, and I just don't see this piece living as long in its influence as it was capable of achieving.

As is the case sometimes with my far less plotted out choices of literary engagements, reading this alerted me to how long denied a craving I had for works that operated in this particular setting with some measure of enculturated assurance that can't be achieved by 90% of what passes out of the publishing mill these days. This work wasn't the perfect example of what I look for in such a piece, but it did reward my cavalier attitude towards bookish acquisitions enough for me to be satisfied with the experience, and that's the most I can ask for with such spontaneous purchases. The fact of the matter is that, given current climes in both readership and reviewing, I'm not likely to find that mix of representational competence and foreign landscapes in a more modern form that manages to deliver on complexity without giving into tropes of self-exotification by relying on the evaluations of the popular market. Indeed, such is more likely to lead me to the kind of out of touch disasters that is generated by GRAmazon's stat sniping recommendation widget than anything else, so when it comes to when I'll be acquiring my next work that carries a literary promise to similar to this piece, it's all a matter of what I come across and when. Until then, I'd say that this is one of the far less glib introductions to the worlds beyond the banal Euro/Neo-Eurocentricities, so if you've a taste for the quality rhetoric and are wiling to go the extra mile in insuring there's as little voyeuristic fetish involved in the composition as possible, this isn't a bad place to start. It may not hold up once you've become acclimated to more complicated pastures, but as is known, it's self-defeating practice for the head to disdain the feet.

[Jhones Rocha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gostei muito da leitura dos capítulos individuais do livro. Uma história muito bem contada e com lições e bem costurado. Entretanto, não acho que eu compreendi muito bem o sentido do todo, principalmente após o capítulo final. Merece leituras posteriores.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a glorious teller of tales is Ms Nakhjavani, with rich language, grand imagery, intricate machinations, and with the nine tales of this book each overlapping the last and the next to keep the reader entranced. The penultimate two stories are especially well crafted, reaching the very rewarding conclusion and solidifying the book as a metaphor of human life, from youth to the finale.

The last chapter of the Corpse gives oversight to the whole, starting as it ended. "Would that I had no name and no identity, he thought, since it is worth so little. We should live as if we would died forever. There's more of it. But this was already becoming too difficult. From 'I' to 'we' was further than he had been willing to extend himself." See the overlapping circle and the tales merge into one imaginative day in the Arabian desert? The penultimate page, as if to reflect on the totality truth and morality of these overlapping tales, speaks thus of "A story of trust, a story of change, a story of detachment and connection, like perfume in the desert which lingers in the memory of men saturated with themselves."

As one newspaper reviewer has stated, this book of fiction "challenges you to solve a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a dream." This is poetry of tales gathered and cast as a grand fable.

[Jamila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the rich milieu and cultural tapestry of this novel . Nakhjavani truly has a gift for storytelling. Through her well-rendered voices, the author transports us to an unknown time, on the pilgrimage routes of Saudi Arabia. This is definitely a fable where meaning can be found beneath the surface of the tumultuous and sometimes violent events of the plot. There are bandits and swindlers on these routes after all! I did however feel that the novel tapered off as the structure of the novel was pretty much telling one single story from the vantage point of each significant character, beginning to end, over each chapter. Perhaps I was waiting for something else at the conclusion...

[Alexandre Mano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gostei do formato que a autora escolheu para descrever uma história por várias perspectivas, adicionando ainda diversas religiões no deserto das arábias! Adorei a tradução, a apresentação de um vocabulário rebuscado mas ao mesmo tempo simples e ter me levado pro deserto, para as arábias e sua multi cultura!

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written book, The Saddlebag is a dark and existential fairy tale about human struggles with faith and doubt, trust and skepticism, life and death. I enjoyed being transported to the Arabian desert during a time period that was not named, although the word “millennial” is used a few times throughout and in one of the last chapters Henry Neumann is mentioned. So I gathered this book takes place at the turn of the 19th/20th century, even though it feels somehow much more ancient, which is part of the story’s appeal. This one reads like linked short stories as far as the different perspectives are concerned, but it is very much a novel that revolves around a sacred saddlebag and the hands of the pilgrims that it passed through on a journey from Mecca to Medina. Since I love to escape to times and places long ago and far away, this was definitely the book for me.

[Juliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Layer I will find words to express how this book is a masterpiece, not only in form in aesthetics but as well as a masterpiece of a story that show life and death, and redemption and meaning. Amazing.

It has become instantly one of the best books I read in my life.

[Leticia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que livro maravilhoso. Vontade de marcar sublinhar cada passagem..a linguagem é extremamente poética, com diversas metáforas e frases que estou pensando até agora.
A teia de personagens é muito envolvente e já quero reler com novo olhar.

[Erin Humbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have read in years! I could not wait to get to the end to see how it would end. It is smart, unusual and intellectual in a time of sadly predictable plots and endings.

[Felipe Moura · Rating 2 out of 5]

a maioria dos contos não me agradou, e eu acabei de sair de um livro que tem 3kg de texto sem diálogo (torto arado), então eu não tava preparado pra ler outro assim :(

[Alessandra Jarreta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Diabo de livro chato do caraio 🙈

[Débora Teixeira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma narrativa com ritmo diferente do que estou acostumada, mas bastante envolvente. Traz reflexões belíssimas. A edição tá TAG está primorosa!

[Julia Boechat Machado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nesse livro, a mesma história é contada sobre diversos pontos de vistas, uma conexão com a fé Bahaí da autora, que acredita que todas as religiões monoteístas são a mesma mensagem, interpretada de formas diversas.
Com isso, a travessia de uma caravana pelo deserto assume significados diferentes, passando de um rato de deserto a uma jovem noiva zoroastrista e propensa a visões, ao líder de um grupo de bandidos, a um trapaceiro indiano, a uma escrava judia, a um peregrino em busca de iluminação, a um sacerdote fanático, a um certo inglês disfarçado de dervixe sobre quem ela tem uma visão irônica (quem gosta de história vai reconhecer na hora. Para falar quem é sem dar spoiler no review vou colocar o nome de uma biografia dele O Colecionador de Mundos) até chegar em um cadáver de um homem que morreu durante uma peregrinação e por isso deve ser enterrado em um cemitério sagrado (e cujo cheiro ninguém consegue suportar).
Com o fundo da caravana, a autora nos lembra que lugares que hoje em dia são frequentemente descritos na imprensa como isolados sempre foram lugares de encontros de culturas. Muito bem escrito e uma ótima surpresa da TAG.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is billed as a fable, implying hidden meanings with daily life applications. As I read it, I tried to ascertain what the core message was. The saddlebags are the central focus, with each chapter telling the story of a character who interacts with the saddlebags. Each in their own way is a believer and a seeker, each with their own dominant passion that drives them that is ultimately both realized and redefined but what they believe they have found in the saddlebags. The Bedouin and the slave are illiterate but none of the characters can really read the true writing on the scrolls. Rather, each imbues them with their own meaning.

I can see this as a metaphor for life --each person sees the world through a unique vision, often a mixture of a religious belief and their own individual twist on that belief. And each of us is capable of finding mea6in things we don't fully understand and are unable to really grasp how our lives intersect with and influence others.

In the end the book left me confused and vaguely unsatisfied but unable to articulate how/why. It was well written and compelling in its pacing. Not sorry to have read it but uncertain about recommending it.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dona de uma escrita sensível, Bahiyyih Nakhjavani captura a fantasia para dar vida à imaginação. O alforje descreve várias narrativas de forma premeditada, induzindo ao leitor questionar na hora exata que ela deseja. O capricho das palavras - que não devo deixar de mencionar Rubens Figueiredo pela tradução exemplar - transborda pelas páginas e se faz presente nas ilustrações e e design gráfico da obra. A edição feita pela TAG me fez crer estar na mesma peregrinação, embora sentada sem nenhum resquício de desconforto.

[Marina Totis · Rating 3 out of 5]

achei maneira a ideia de contar a historia sob diversos pontos de vista e assim mostrar a riqueza da cultura local mas chegou uma hora que cansou demaisss

[Marcus Athaydes Liesenfeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Histórias e personagens e histórias de personagens que se entrelaçam de uma maneira muito complexa e até sobrenatural. Mas não gostei do final.

[Dandara · Rating 5 out of 5]

História lindamente tecida. Um pouco confusa em alguns pontos - tive que voltar a capítulos anteriores - mas nada que comprometa a experiência global da leitura. Intrigante e fascinante!

[Adam Stevenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An animist, a Zoroastrian, an atheist, a lapsed Hindu trickster, a Jew, a Buddhist, a Shi’ia Muslim, an English spy posing as a Sufi and a corpse go into the desert…and although not the set-up to a joke, it is something of a shaggy dog story.

If anything, this book reminded me of Pulp Fiction; thieves, swindlers, brides, spies and priests all find themselves connected by a mysterious saddlebag full of holy writing. This holy writing seems to come from a Supreme Being all the various faiths can believe in. Judging by the fact the author is a lecturer on the Bahá’i faith, I imagined this was something to do with that - and a little googling told me it was inspired by a story of Bab, a profit, having his writings stolen.

Each chapter told the story of one of the nine characters, set-up their world view and brings them to the climactic events on a road between Mecca and Medina. It was interesting how some of the characters were connected before the events but it got a little dull seeing the climactic events again and again, there were some twists but probably not enough.

I enjoyed the crazy, young (and crazy-young) Zoroastrian bride with her senses of angels, I particularly liked the story of the swindling money-changer who kept changing name and face and ended up a tongueless wise man. The Buddhist pilgrim’s story was very strange, he feared being buried in sand but ended up dying happily in quicksand - there was supposed to be something spiritual there but I didn’t properly pick up on it.

Which probably sums up my opinion of the book, I was engaged enough by the story but wasn’t open enough to the religious/spiritual elements to really grab hold of it as I may have.

[Maira · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not your usual story. It's as mystical as the dunes of the Arabian desert in the sacred road between Medina and Meca, ever-shifting with the wind. The story is very simple: one fateful day in the life of nine people traveling together in a caravansery after they find a mysterious saddlebag. The Thief, the Bride, the Leader, the Scalper, the Slave, the Pilgrim, the Priest, the Dervish, and the Corpse tell their versions about the day that changed everyone's lives in very different ways.

The author narrates the story with magical treads that weave one character in the other and makes it so that every new version completes the one that came before in a captivating way. Religion is obviously a big theme, just like the sand and the perpendicular desert's sun (using her own analogies).

Apart from knowing more about a universe that is so different from mine - because Nakhjavani talks about everything concerning the human psyche - I felt like I was reading one of those fabulous stories from Sheherazade and the One Thousand and One Nights. Pure magic!

[Norah Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal novel - unique in approach, fascinating in execution,powerful in outcome. As soon as I finished I started over again, to savor the words and images and to get a closer look at the puzzles, clues, and references throughout.