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Moving the Palace
At the dawn of the 20th century, a young Lebanese explorer leaves the Levant for the wilds of Africa, encountering an eccentric English colonel in Sudan and enlisting in his service. In this lush chronicle of far-flung adventure, the military recruit crosses paths with a compatriot who has dismantled a sumptuous palace in Tripoli and is transporting it across the continent on a camel caravan. The protagonist soon takes charge of this hoard of architectural fragments, ferrying the dismantled landmark through Sudan, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula, attempting to return to his native Beirut with this moveable real estate. Along the way, he encounters skeptic sheikhs, suspicious tribal leaders, bountiful feasts, pilgrims bound for Mecca and T.E. Lawrence in a tent.
200 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2007
32 people are currently reading
714 people want to read
About the author
Charif Majdalani
25 books32 followersCharif Majdalani quitte son pays en 1980 à destination de la France pour suivre des études de lettres modernes à l'université d'Aix-en-Provence. Il revient au Liban en 1993 après avoir soutenu sa thèse sur Antonin Artaud.
Dans un premier temps, il occupe un poste d'enseignant à l'université de Balamand puis à l'université Saint-Joseph où il est professeur de lettres.
À partir de 1995, il participe à la revue d'opposition L'Orient-Express, en charge de la rubrique littéraire. Cette collaboration s'achèvera en 1998 année de la cessation de publication de ce journal.
En 1999, Charif Majdalani revient à l'enseignement dans l'université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth où il est en charge du département de Lettres Françaises. Ce poste lui permet d'accueillir des romanciers français et libanais. Lors du sommet de la francophonie 2002, il publie un livre Le petit traité des mélanges. Parallèlement à l'enseignement, on peut lire sous sa plume une chronique mensuelle publiée dans le journal La Montagne.
"Villa des femmes" obtient le Prix Transfuge du meilleur roman arabe.
Dans un premier temps, il occupe un poste d'enseignant à l'université de Balamand puis à l'université Saint-Joseph où il est professeur de lettres.
À partir de 1995, il participe à la revue d'opposition L'Orient-Express, en charge de la rubrique littéraire. Cette collaboration s'achèvera en 1998 année de la cessation de publication de ce journal.
En 1999, Charif Majdalani revient à l'enseignement dans l'université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth où il est en charge du département de Lettres Françaises. Ce poste lui permet d'accueillir des romanciers français et libanais. Lors du sommet de la francophonie 2002, il publie un livre Le petit traité des mélanges. Parallèlement à l'enseignement, on peut lire sous sa plume une chronique mensuelle publiée dans le journal La Montagne.
"Villa des femmes" obtient le Prix Transfuge du meilleur roman arabe.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
January 30, 2019
I'm reminded once more of how idiosyncratic and personal reading can be, because much of what I loved in this novel would have been why I might have put it down another time. The story is told as if through antique glass--with bubbles, waves, and occasional clarity--and it begins with a narrator looking at a photograph of his grandfather, and thinking about all the stories he has heard about the man in the photograph. What follows is acknowledged as partly made up in the head of the narrator, partly an accurate accounting of historical events in Sudan, as might have been experienced by one man. It's a romantic frame for a romantic story. The pace is mostly slow. The observations at times are subtle. I appreciated both qualities because slowness and subtlety seemed to fit the times. I also found the novel to be a fascinating addition to the literature of colonialism--in this case the main character is Lebanese, but Westernized, and he is mistaken by the Sudanese as an Englishman, while at the same time he is condescended to by the British officers he works with.
A subtle read that deserves slow and careful attention.
A subtle read that deserves slow and careful attention.
October 15, 2020
200 action-packed pages, and yet I want more.
There must be more stories to tell about how a dismantled palace crossed deserts and mountains and end up in Lebanon -
And I want to see the Beqaa Valley with my own eyes and go back to the Empty Quarter and feel the blazing hot sand under my feet ...
There must be more stories to tell about how a dismantled palace crossed deserts and mountains and end up in Lebanon -
And I want to see the Beqaa Valley with my own eyes and go back to the Empty Quarter and feel the blazing hot sand under my feet ...
May 14, 2018
Imagine yourself transplanted to Lebanon in the early 1900s. You are a Westernized Lebanese, fluent in Arabic, English, and with a smidgen of French. You decide to leave Lebanon and head to the Sudan where you become a translator for the British colonial administration. Your employment entails traipsing across deserts with British army officers; witnessing battles and tribal feuds; quelling rebellions; encountering a motley crew of Bedouins, tribal chieftains, and sheikhs with their respective entourages; negotiating agreements; sleeping under the stars; and interacting with Western military officials whose presence against the desert backdrop smacks of an absurdist drama. Along the way, you encounter a man who has dismantled a lavish palace in Tripoli and is transporting it piece by piece in a camel caravan. You eventually become the proud owner of this piecemeal palace and, after a series of detours and hiccups, you return to Lebanon with the bits and pieces of your palace in tow.
This is the highly imaginative setting for Charif Majdalani’s Moving the Palace. The narrator is the grandson of Samuel Ayad, our intrepid traveler who ostensibly relayed details of his adventures to his daughter who then relayed it to her son. The novel is a blend of historical fact and fiction, the narrator freely acknowledging he had to fill in gaps in the storyline and embellish details as necessary.
The novel is an absolute delight. The reader is transported to exotic locations and is introduced to a quirky set of characters at a pivotal moment in world history. As fascinating as that is, what really sustains reader interest is the narrator’s voice. This imaginative tale comes through the voice of Majdalani’s narrator who delights and amuses us with his dry, sardonic humor, with his exposure of the foibles and absurdities of human behavior, and with the manner in which he presents outlandish events in a matter-of-fact tone.
Majdalani’s strength and the strength of Edward Gauvin, the translator, lies in crafting flowing sentences that strongly evoke the topography and atmosphere of the Arab desert and its people. The story is told in lyrical, rhythmic sentences that mesmerize and sparkle with humor.
Very highly recommended.
This is the highly imaginative setting for Charif Majdalani’s Moving the Palace. The narrator is the grandson of Samuel Ayad, our intrepid traveler who ostensibly relayed details of his adventures to his daughter who then relayed it to her son. The novel is a blend of historical fact and fiction, the narrator freely acknowledging he had to fill in gaps in the storyline and embellish details as necessary.
The novel is an absolute delight. The reader is transported to exotic locations and is introduced to a quirky set of characters at a pivotal moment in world history. As fascinating as that is, what really sustains reader interest is the narrator’s voice. This imaginative tale comes through the voice of Majdalani’s narrator who delights and amuses us with his dry, sardonic humor, with his exposure of the foibles and absurdities of human behavior, and with the manner in which he presents outlandish events in a matter-of-fact tone.
Majdalani’s strength and the strength of Edward Gauvin, the translator, lies in crafting flowing sentences that strongly evoke the topography and atmosphere of the Arab desert and its people. The story is told in lyrical, rhythmic sentences that mesmerize and sparkle with humor.
Very highly recommended.
May 11, 2021
A truly entertaining little novel that transgresses genres and expectations in a wonderfully quiet manner. It could have been an adventure novel of caravans in the deserts of the Sudan and Arabia during wartime, but it’s not. People are unexpectedly honest, mysteries don’t end up mattering much, love scarcely happens at all, but when it does it’s like lightning (with no thunder whatsoever). To the extent it’s a buddy novel, it’s a serial one. The frame is mostly ignored, and this too works. I would have liked little of what the novel could have been, but I loved what it is. A 4.5
Here are a few sentences relating to the palace in order to give a flavor of this novel's wonderful tone and well-translated prose:
"They load up the palace and the unconcerned deities on a moonless night. The courtyard is noisy and labored, the gods are hauled from the shed and dumped amidst the dust and the dung, waiting to be hitched up, the great mirrors are leaned against fissured walls like planks from some old sideboard; and the elaborate windows, the fragments of roof and frescoed wall, lie scattered in all directions. Samuel [the protagonist] tries to bring some order to the proceedings, gets angry, and then gives up."
Here are a few sentences relating to the palace in order to give a flavor of this novel's wonderful tone and well-translated prose:
"They load up the palace and the unconcerned deities on a moonless night. The courtyard is noisy and labored, the gods are hauled from the shed and dumped amidst the dust and the dung, waiting to be hitched up, the great mirrors are leaned against fissured walls like planks from some old sideboard; and the elaborate windows, the fragments of roof and frescoed wall, lie scattered in all directions. Samuel [the protagonist] tries to bring some order to the proceedings, gets angry, and then gives up."
October 26, 2020
This is the first time I've read a novel from Lebanese author Charif Majdalani. Readers follow the adventures of the narrator's grand-father who left Lebanon in 1909 to work for the British Army in Sudan, then returned home traveling across the region on caravans with a dismantled palace and other treasures at the beginning of WWI.
I learned so much about the region during the beginning of the 20th century as I didn't know much about it before. I enjoyed reading this adventure journey. However, the author wrote more various facts about places, times and individuals of this long caravansérail. He failed to make readers connect with his grandfather. There was nothing really personnal said about the leading character such as his own reason to leave his family and country in the first place, his own thoughts about British occupation of Sudan, his own feelings for what he did for the British in Sudan, and in general his inner thoughts about any subjects.
There is a level of depth that the author failed to dig to make the story excellent.
I learned so much about the region during the beginning of the 20th century as I didn't know much about it before. I enjoyed reading this adventure journey. However, the author wrote more various facts about places, times and individuals of this long caravansérail. He failed to make readers connect with his grandfather. There was nothing really personnal said about the leading character such as his own reason to leave his family and country in the first place, his own thoughts about British occupation of Sudan, his own feelings for what he did for the British in Sudan, and in general his inner thoughts about any subjects.
There is a level of depth that the author failed to dig to make the story excellent.
August 20, 2017
A picaresque without a narrator I loathe! Which is to say, a picaresque without the picaresque. Our hero comes into possession of a disassembled Moorish palace and embarks on many travels in prewar sub-Saharan Africa to try and find a Sultan or a tribal chief who will buy it from him. The author bio says that Charif Majdalani has often been described as a Lebanese Proust, which a) makes this book sound far more discouraging and less funny and charming than it is and b) makes me side-eye the author because come on, guy, we know authors write their own bios. Be cool.
May 15, 2017
The story of Samuel Ayyad, a Lebanese man who, in 1908 at the age of eighteen leaves his home in Beirut to become a civilian officer for the British army in the Sudan, is told many decades later by his grandson. The narrator states at the beginning of his tale that the stories of his adventurous grandfather’s life have been passed down through his family by word of mouth making some of this story read more like legend than biography. He begins his tale with a rhetorical question:
How to bring together and breath life into all those outlandish, nonsensical particulars uncertain traditions have passed down, or vague stories my mother told me that he himself, her own father, told her, but which she never sought to have him clarify or fasten to anything tangible, such that they reached me in pieces, susceptible to wild reverie and endless novelistic embroidering, like a story which only chapter headings remain, but which I have waited to tell for decades.
Majdalani’s rendition of the unreliable narrator that he uses for his story seems fitting for a plot that involves the dismantled contents of a palace being carried through the desert via camel and donkey caravan. Samuel’s story begins believably enough when he takes a job in the Sudan as a translator for a British officer named Colonel Moore. The Colonel is tasked with trying to unify the Sudan which had been retaken from Khalifa Abdallahi by the Anglo-Egyptian armies. After decades of despotic oppression the country is still in a state of chaos as the capital city of Khartoum is slowly being rebuilt. When Samuel arrives in Khartoum his duties are to act as liaison and interpreter between the British army and the local populace. Samuel’s stay in Khartoum is short-lived as he becomes involved in Colonel Moore’s expedition to the desert to speak with local tribes in an attempt to prevent an uprising lead by one of the tribal chieftains. From this point forward, Samuel’s life becomes the archetype of a flawless hero, one in which he feels the urge to carry other men’s burdens, both figuratively and literally, through the desert.
When Samuel ventures out into different parts of the Sudan as a member of Colonel Moore’s entourage, he quickly becomes indispensable not only as the commander’s translator but also as his advisor for negotiating the customs of the local tribes. When the Colonel decides to return to Khartoum, Samuel is left in charge of a small contingent of forces as well as a small fortune of gold in order to negotiate with the local tribes. Thus, Samuel takes up the Colonel’s burden of quelling a rebellion and uniting the tribes of western Sudan under the British flag. Samuel spends his nights in the desert, eating rich dinners of roasted gazelle and exchanging stories with local sultans. Majdalani’s strength as a writer is found in his beautiful and detailed descriptions of the topography of this region. At times the narrative is so detailed that I felt a map would have been appropriate to include within the text. But, then again, because our narrator is not entirely reliable, a map might break the spell of this story that is not meant to be entirely plausible.
The next burden that Samuel takes upon himself is a palace that has been dismantled into a thousand pieces and is being carried through the desert by an antique dealer named Shafik Abyad. Abyad, in his hunt for ancient treasure, buys a this small Arabian palace in Tripoli. Instead of selling off the pieces of the palace bit by bit, he loads the stones, frescoes, gilded mirrors, staircase and even the pool adorned in Moorish style onto the backs of camels and heads south with his caravan. When Samuel encounters Abyad in the desert, the antiquities dealer has been carrying these pieces in his caravan for years and has failed to find a buyer for his palace. Samuel, whether out of pity or a sense of adventure, or plans for his future—once again the narrator isn’t entirely sure of this information—buys the entire palace which he, himself now bears across parts of Africa and The Middle East.
Throughout his travels in the desert Samuel continues to help others by taking on their burdens and he becomes famous for his adventures. As he attempts to make his way back to Lebanon, World War I has broken out and naval blockades prevent him from sailing to his homeland with his palace. The author includes a hefty amount of history about this tumultuous region in the early 20th century that at times felt overwhelming . The juxtaposition of volatile historical events with the heroic character of Samuel makes for an odd mix of realism and romanticism in the novel. As war and uncertainty surround him, Samuel remains a constant pillar of strength, bravery and tenacity. He becomes a larger than life hero who has no flaws or faults of any kind; Samuel is always polite, always chooses to do the right thing, and always saves others from their own, crushing burdens by taking them on as his own. It becomes evident that the narrator’s uncertainty about these events allows him to idealize his grandfather who drags his palace all the way back to Beirut where he eventually lives in it with his “princess”—the narrator’s grandmother. Although this was a lovely story with a happy ending, I have to admit that I much prefer my heroes to be of the Ancient Greek sort— in other words, rather flawed.
How to bring together and breath life into all those outlandish, nonsensical particulars uncertain traditions have passed down, or vague stories my mother told me that he himself, her own father, told her, but which she never sought to have him clarify or fasten to anything tangible, such that they reached me in pieces, susceptible to wild reverie and endless novelistic embroidering, like a story which only chapter headings remain, but which I have waited to tell for decades.
Majdalani’s rendition of the unreliable narrator that he uses for his story seems fitting for a plot that involves the dismantled contents of a palace being carried through the desert via camel and donkey caravan. Samuel’s story begins believably enough when he takes a job in the Sudan as a translator for a British officer named Colonel Moore. The Colonel is tasked with trying to unify the Sudan which had been retaken from Khalifa Abdallahi by the Anglo-Egyptian armies. After decades of despotic oppression the country is still in a state of chaos as the capital city of Khartoum is slowly being rebuilt. When Samuel arrives in Khartoum his duties are to act as liaison and interpreter between the British army and the local populace. Samuel’s stay in Khartoum is short-lived as he becomes involved in Colonel Moore’s expedition to the desert to speak with local tribes in an attempt to prevent an uprising lead by one of the tribal chieftains. From this point forward, Samuel’s life becomes the archetype of a flawless hero, one in which he feels the urge to carry other men’s burdens, both figuratively and literally, through the desert.
When Samuel ventures out into different parts of the Sudan as a member of Colonel Moore’s entourage, he quickly becomes indispensable not only as the commander’s translator but also as his advisor for negotiating the customs of the local tribes. When the Colonel decides to return to Khartoum, Samuel is left in charge of a small contingent of forces as well as a small fortune of gold in order to negotiate with the local tribes. Thus, Samuel takes up the Colonel’s burden of quelling a rebellion and uniting the tribes of western Sudan under the British flag. Samuel spends his nights in the desert, eating rich dinners of roasted gazelle and exchanging stories with local sultans. Majdalani’s strength as a writer is found in his beautiful and detailed descriptions of the topography of this region. At times the narrative is so detailed that I felt a map would have been appropriate to include within the text. But, then again, because our narrator is not entirely reliable, a map might break the spell of this story that is not meant to be entirely plausible.
The next burden that Samuel takes upon himself is a palace that has been dismantled into a thousand pieces and is being carried through the desert by an antique dealer named Shafik Abyad. Abyad, in his hunt for ancient treasure, buys a this small Arabian palace in Tripoli. Instead of selling off the pieces of the palace bit by bit, he loads the stones, frescoes, gilded mirrors, staircase and even the pool adorned in Moorish style onto the backs of camels and heads south with his caravan. When Samuel encounters Abyad in the desert, the antiquities dealer has been carrying these pieces in his caravan for years and has failed to find a buyer for his palace. Samuel, whether out of pity or a sense of adventure, or plans for his future—once again the narrator isn’t entirely sure of this information—buys the entire palace which he, himself now bears across parts of Africa and The Middle East.
Throughout his travels in the desert Samuel continues to help others by taking on their burdens and he becomes famous for his adventures. As he attempts to make his way back to Lebanon, World War I has broken out and naval blockades prevent him from sailing to his homeland with his palace. The author includes a hefty amount of history about this tumultuous region in the early 20th century that at times felt overwhelming . The juxtaposition of volatile historical events with the heroic character of Samuel makes for an odd mix of realism and romanticism in the novel. As war and uncertainty surround him, Samuel remains a constant pillar of strength, bravery and tenacity. He becomes a larger than life hero who has no flaws or faults of any kind; Samuel is always polite, always chooses to do the right thing, and always saves others from their own, crushing burdens by taking them on as his own. It becomes evident that the narrator’s uncertainty about these events allows him to idealize his grandfather who drags his palace all the way back to Beirut where he eventually lives in it with his “princess”—the narrator’s grandmother. Although this was a lovely story with a happy ending, I have to admit that I much prefer my heroes to be of the Ancient Greek sort— in other words, rather flawed.
April 1, 2019
This wasn't really for me - it's a shaggy dog story about a Lebanese trader swanning around the deserts of the Middle East in and around WW1 trying to transport an entire castle piece by piece to Lebanon. It's a creative and vivid recreation of a period and place I knew nothing about, but I just couldn't stay engaged with it.
(This was on audio book, which may have coloured my experience)
(This was on audio book, which may have coloured my experience)
January 11, 2025
Último livro do desafio volta ao mundo de 2024 🎉
Foi divertido, mas o vocabulário refinado deixou a leitura lenta e cansativa. O livro é basicamente sobre um libanês que compra um palácio (isso mesmo) desmontado quando estava no Sudão e resolve levar o palácio até o Líbano.
O livro mostra nuances das relações entre os diversos povos do Oriente médio e os europeus, principalmente britânicos e franceses.
Foi divertido, mas o vocabulário refinado deixou a leitura lenta e cansativa. O livro é basicamente sobre um libanês que compra um palácio (isso mesmo) desmontado quando estava no Sudão e resolve levar o palácio até o Líbano.
O livro mostra nuances das relações entre os diversos povos do Oriente médio e os europeus, principalmente britânicos e franceses.
December 23, 2018
This was a fun listen, but sometimes it didn't hold my attention that well. The ending is lovely. I'm glad I persevered.
August 17, 2017
Think of this as the story of a road trip by camel with a palace in the baggage. At the turn of the last century a Lebanese man leaves his country for Egypt. He takes a job with a British officer in Khartoum. His duties in the tribal areas of the Sahara bring him in touch with another Lebanese man, who is carrying his palace from Tripoli in pieces on camels, hoping to sell it to a tribal chieftain. He is ready to give up, but convinces Samuel to buy it. Samuel decides it would be a wonderful home in his native Beirut, and his odyssey begins, a wonderful saga.
June 11, 2017
Don't let this book cover fool you. It is NOT a child's book!! My book cover is actually different than this one, a more adult looking cover. I won it through Goodreads, and I want to thank Goodreads AND the author for giving me a chance to read and review this novel.
Don't get me wrong with my "okay" rating. It has some glowing comments -- about the details and how you really can picture this castle being moved in pieces through Sudan, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula. The novel has some glowing description. The descriptions are very detailed. You should be able to picture most, if not all, of the story. However, it is written in the style of some of our old masters of literature with words you may have to look up, and one paragraph is often one sentence. Most readers, I believe, would need these sentences broken up into sections. If I was interrupted by ANYTHING, I would have to go back and reread the sentence, the paragraph, so it took me double the reading time. If you are a scholar and are thinking of reading this novel, I think you should.
As I said, the storyline is great.... and very unique. With all the books available to read in this modern time, I have not come across anything even close to this storyline. A castle in the desert? Better still, a castle being carried by a caravan of camels and other beasts of the area? How unique!!
It reminds me somewhat (just somewhat, mind you) of King Solomon's Mines in its original writing format. I loved that book, but I know many people who would start it and never get past the first 2 or 3 pages. That's the wasy I gauge this novel.
Therefore, if you are not a seasoned reader, I don't believe this book is for you. But if you are, give it a try. Some readers call it a "beautiful epic," and I do understand why. As I said, seasoned readers should try this book!!!
Don't get me wrong with my "okay" rating. It has some glowing comments -- about the details and how you really can picture this castle being moved in pieces through Sudan, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula. The novel has some glowing description. The descriptions are very detailed. You should be able to picture most, if not all, of the story. However, it is written in the style of some of our old masters of literature with words you may have to look up, and one paragraph is often one sentence. Most readers, I believe, would need these sentences broken up into sections. If I was interrupted by ANYTHING, I would have to go back and reread the sentence, the paragraph, so it took me double the reading time. If you are a scholar and are thinking of reading this novel, I think you should.
As I said, the storyline is great.... and very unique. With all the books available to read in this modern time, I have not come across anything even close to this storyline. A castle in the desert? Better still, a castle being carried by a caravan of camels and other beasts of the area? How unique!!
It reminds me somewhat (just somewhat, mind you) of King Solomon's Mines in its original writing format. I loved that book, but I know many people who would start it and never get past the first 2 or 3 pages. That's the wasy I gauge this novel.
Therefore, if you are not a seasoned reader, I don't believe this book is for you. But if you are, give it a try. Some readers call it a "beautiful epic," and I do understand why. As I said, seasoned readers should try this book!!!
July 9, 2017
This is a tale full of the mounted cavalcades beneath great wind-tossed banners and restless wanderings. The setting is the early 20th century and the tale is recounted to the reader by the grandson of a Lebanese explorer, Samuel who in the course of his travels in North Africa is enlisted into the services of an eccentric English colonel in Sudan. In the course of his assignment Samuel crossed paths with a compatriot who has dismantled a sumptuous palace and is transporting across the continent on a camel caravan. The story of the hazards and foibles of transportation of this palace as responsibility for it transfers from one to another of these protagonists depending on shifting skirmishes with leaders of various kingdoms and warring tribes has its humorous aspects.The author conveys a vivid sense of the landscape as they travel the Sudan, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula and the protagonist encounters sheikhs, tribal leaders, bands of Bedouin tribesmen, and the hazards of political unrest and fluid loyalties amid a backdrop of ensuing war.
August 6, 2017
L'ambiance est crédible et bien communiquée; les grands espaces - et les petits aussi - très bien peints; l'aventure, l'humour, les comparaisons imprédictibles propres à l'auteur, tout y est. Cependant j'avais lu le "Villa des femmes" plus aisément. Ce roman m'a ennuyé à certains endroits - peut être plus par disposition personnelle que pour les qualités intrinsèques du livre, je ne saurais le dire. Peut être que le thème du libanais levantin aventurier est devenu désabusé (pour un lecteur libanais?). Ou peut être que le désert pèse de son ennui sur le roman?
Reste à noter que la scène de Samuel piqueniquant allègrement avec une beyrouthine à Rachayya - scène qui doit se situer entre 1914-1915 - survient à un moment où le Mont Liban souffrait d'une famine et d'autres tragédies qui allaient faire périr le tiers de sa population... cette famine est absente du roman - je ne dis pas cependant qu'il est obligatoire que tout roman portant de près ou de loin sur la 1re guerre mondial mentionne la famine du Mont Liban.
Reste à noter que la scène de Samuel piqueniquant allègrement avec une beyrouthine à Rachayya - scène qui doit se situer entre 1914-1915 - survient à un moment où le Mont Liban souffrait d'une famine et d'autres tragédies qui allaient faire périr le tiers de sa population... cette famine est absente du roman - je ne dis pas cependant qu'il est obligatoire que tout roman portant de près ou de loin sur la 1re guerre mondial mentionne la famine du Mont Liban.
January 23, 2019
This book is a bit of an enigma. The premise is great: a man (and the people he meets along the way) are charged with taking a castle across the desert from Sudan to Beirut in the early 1910s. This caravan meets all sorts of people from tribes, to kings, and sheikhs and everyone in between. Think Around The World In 80 Days by Jules Verne. The problem is, this is a highly intellectual story. The paragraphs are super long and sometimes an entire sentence is the paragraph. It was just hard to follow. This was originally published in French. Maybe the translation is lacking or maybe this American reader (me), just is not aware of the history of this region of the world or historical time period. I feel like this would make an incredible movie because this seems to lend itself to a visual medium of storytelling. Charif Majdalani won some awards for this story back in 2008 and I'm not surprised, but this novel was over my head. If you are a scholarly-type reader you may really love this but it just fell a bit short for me.
April 1, 2025
This story had a charm in that there was subtle humor in the premise itself. There was a string of turns and comradery that made it a rather bizarre and curious romp. But this is more of a snapshot than a fleshed out story. So it didn't quite live up to what I thought I was getting into. But it was enjoyable for what it was.
Written by a Lebanese man, this exploration of northern Africa and the social and political situations in the middle east and Europe that influenced the continent below, is an memoir of a singular event in the narrator's grandfather's life. While I can't speak to the accuracy and extent of colonialist view, the privileges the narrator has from other countries dignitaries due to his light appearance isn't ignored. The takeover and robbery that occurred for some people to gain wealth also noted. The treatment of individual leaders native to the territories he traveled through wasn't as cringe inducing as I would anticipate a more western perspective to be.
Written by a Lebanese man, this exploration of northern Africa and the social and political situations in the middle east and Europe that influenced the continent below, is an memoir of a singular event in the narrator's grandfather's life. While I can't speak to the accuracy and extent of colonialist view, the privileges the narrator has from other countries dignitaries due to his light appearance isn't ignored. The takeover and robbery that occurred for some people to gain wealth also noted. The treatment of individual leaders native to the territories he traveled through wasn't as cringe inducing as I would anticipate a more western perspective to be.
August 18, 2025
This is a beautiful, surreal book with a Lebanese emigre at its center, serving as an informal but powerful attache of the British army in Sudan and Northern Africa early in the twentieth century. Whenever there is a crisis, he has gold British sovereigns to dispel it, and the lucre serves as most of the diplomacy he needs. Samuel Ayyad also deploys stories. It seems in great moments of tension, whimsical stories always work to unify everyone, or at least bring them to good humor. Above all, while the tale is dreamy and strange, Ayyad becoming rich as he takes up another man's ridiculous desire to stone-by-stone move a palace and its antique contents to another country--in Samuel's case, back to his home town of Beirut--there is comedy here, parody, of some sort, even Lawrence of Arabia brought down from his romantic heights, but most of all the British, as with a powerful but absurd British colonel. Soldiers make chase and are largely evaded throughout.
March 23, 2019
Would you be willing to buy a thousand pieces of dismantled palace and transport it back home on a camel caravan? In order to ease the burden of his merchant compatriot, Samuel would, which in return brings an array of adventures.
Perhaps I am influenced by my limited experience with the desert, which was none during the summer days. Add that to the enchanting way that this book is written, reading it transports me to the vastness of the desert, to its breeze and tranquility. The sentences are long, but they do not lament - rich in details but just enough.
I can’t catch all the satirical attempts, and I can’t keep up with all the names. Yet I enjoyed reading this book that I took my time (a long one for a 198 pages book!) savouring it. A charming read indeed.
Perhaps I am influenced by my limited experience with the desert, which was none during the summer days. Add that to the enchanting way that this book is written, reading it transports me to the vastness of the desert, to its breeze and tranquility. The sentences are long, but they do not lament - rich in details but just enough.
I can’t catch all the satirical attempts, and I can’t keep up with all the names. Yet I enjoyed reading this book that I took my time (a long one for a 198 pages book!) savouring it. A charming read indeed.
July 6, 2017
I received this as an ARC at ALA Annual this year. Majdalani's novel is a marvelous read for this former CMES-er. Seeing Middle Eastern history through the eyes of our unique protagonist, the Lebanese Samuel, was fascinating. I thought the translator did a beautiful job, and the lyrical prose evoked both the original French and Arabic. I would put Majdalani's book next to Gentlemen of the Road and Baudolino in my collection of beloved travel narratives, especially those that encourage blurring the line between fact and fiction.
February 7, 2019
C'est un roman qui fait rêver, et qui possède une surprenante fin (je ne vais pas vous la spoiler!). En plus, il peut s'avérer être drôle avec ses quelques anecdotes.
Mais en tout cas, c'est un véritable roman d'aventures, qui vous plonge dans les mystérieuses merveilles de l'Orient, qui offre une description poignante du grand désert, qui laisse libre cours à l'imagination de parcourir le désert en caravane, à un tel point que le lecteur s'évade vers la magie des nuits d'Orient. Une belle histoire orientaliste! Bravo: ce bouquin, je le conseille vivement!
Mais en tout cas, c'est un véritable roman d'aventures, qui vous plonge dans les mystérieuses merveilles de l'Orient, qui offre une description poignante du grand désert, qui laisse libre cours à l'imagination de parcourir le désert en caravane, à un tel point que le lecteur s'évade vers la magie des nuits d'Orient. Une belle histoire orientaliste! Bravo: ce bouquin, je le conseille vivement!
January 23, 2018
What makes this book unusual is it is a portrayal of colonialism from the viewpoint of the colonized. Well, that isn't really the case. The Lebanese protagonist spends the book traveling through Sudan, (what is now) Saudi Arabia, and Syria, largely "passing" as a European while still identifying personally as an Arab. One annoying thing about the book is the sentence structure. It is filled with run-on sentences that might have been a product of translation from the original Arabic. Still the translator could have chopped up those sentences into more easily digestible bits. The long meandering sentences sometimes made it hard for me to stay focused on the story. Instead I was taken out of the book as my attention was drawn to the syntax.
August 29, 2018
4 1/2. This book is definitely not for most people. But, if narrative can capture the feel, ebbs, and flows of a desert, (as I imagine it as I’ve never been to one) this book does. Quirky and humorous in subtle ways; charming and elegant. I found the end a bit abrupt - much like the abrupt darkness that comes after a magnificent sunset as the author describes them.
December 8, 2017
I couldn't decide whether to give this 4 or 5 stars. It is beautifully written rollicking story, but with too many characters that were difficult to keep up with. It also helped that I have decent knowledge of the time and place.
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September 9, 2019What fun! I can't believe I found this at a teeny branch library. I bet it's even better as an audio book because I can just imagine sitting around the fire in the desert listening to the narrator night after night spinning this yarn.
August 2, 2022
Ein Buch, das eine Atmosphäre von fremden Welten und alten Zeiten schaffen will, und das nicht so ganz schafft. Nicht zu Ende gelesen, weil einfach nichts von Interesse sich nach 50 Seiten ergeben hatte, aber zwei Sterne für die blumige Sprache.
February 16, 2025
An unusual (for me) tale - a Lebanese man ventures into the desert, crossing many arbitrary lines of countries in the Middle East with different languages, customs, prejudices and beliefs. A wandering tale that was slow but beautiful reading.
June 10, 2017
This book takes you to a different culture, a different time, a vastly different perspective on events during the time the story occurs. There is a great big world out there.
June 14, 2017
Even though I enjoyed, I constantly felt that I was too uneducated to truly understand. So many historical references went over my head.
August 13, 2017
Quirky. Fun. Hard to know what to compare it too. Language was beautiful, and this was a translation. 3.5 stars.
March 6, 2018
Ugh. The main character was a dry as the dessert that he was traversing.
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