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De boodschapper
Algier, Anfang des 17. Jahrhunderts. Raschid al-Kenzy, in Aleppo geborener unehelicher Sohn einer nubischen Sklavin, soll fuer einen Mord buessen, den er nicht begangen hat. Da macht ihm der Dei von Algier ein verlockendes Angebot: Er will ihm das Leben und die Freiheit schenken im Gegenzug fuer eine gefaehrliche Mission. Raschid soll nach Nordeuropa reisen, um ein sagenumwobenes astronomisches Geraet herbeizuschaffen, das sogenannte Teleskop. Eine gefaehrliche Reise beginnt ...
First published January 1, 1998
56 people want to read
About the author
Jamal Mahjoub
23 books47 followersAka Parker Bilal
Jamal Mahjoub was born in London in 1960. After living in Liverpool for several years, the family moved to Sudan, his father’s home country. Mahjoub attended Comboni College, run by Italian priests. He subsequently received a grant from Atlantic College in , and continued his studies in geology at the university of Sheffield. While still a student he began publishing his literary texts in magazines. After several changes of location, northern Europe eventually became his home base – yet his African roots still play a central role in his books. They incorporate stories and history, science and superstition and at the same time discuss the living conditions in which people from different backgrounds live together or in close proximity with each other.
»In the Hour of Signs« (1996) tells the story of the British conquest of at the end of the 19th century. The book transforms both protagonists of the conflict, the Muslim leader Mohammed Ahmed, called Mahdi, and the English General Gordon into symbolic figures. The main characters are farmers, shepherds or simple soldiers, and the uprising is described from their perspective as country dwellers or representatives of the colonial power. Mahjoub’s historical novel »The Carrier« (1998) deals with one of the pivotal moments in European thought: the development of the telescope and the corresponding astronomical methods of calculation, which paved the way for the heliocentric view of the world and the separation of science and religion. Mahjoub described his motivation: »I was fascinated by the question of why such a significant change in thought as marked by the Renaissance in Europe, didn’t occur in the Islamic world.« The young scholar Rashid al-Kenzy, son of a Nubian slave and falsely accused of murder, is reprieved by the dey of Algiers on condition that Rashid procure him the optical device, of whose capabilities people tell the most wondrous tales – and thus Rashid sets out on a long journey. In 2006 Majoub published his novel »Nubian Indigo«, whose story is set during the construction of the Aswan High Dam. »The Drift Latitudes« (2007) has present-day London as its setting. A successful architect, daughter of an immigrant from Trinidad and a German father whom she can hardly remember, receives several letters from her half-sister in , which cause her to begin to deal with her background.
The author has been awarded the Prix d’Astrobale for the novel »Travelling with Djinns« (2003) and the Guardian/Heinemann African Short Story Prize. After spending many years in the Danish city of Aarhus, Mahjoub is now living in Barcelona.
Jamal Mahjoub was born in London in 1960. After living in Liverpool for several years, the family moved to Sudan, his father’s home country. Mahjoub attended Comboni College, run by Italian priests. He subsequently received a grant from Atlantic College in , and continued his studies in geology at the university of Sheffield. While still a student he began publishing his literary texts in magazines. After several changes of location, northern Europe eventually became his home base – yet his African roots still play a central role in his books. They incorporate stories and history, science and superstition and at the same time discuss the living conditions in which people from different backgrounds live together or in close proximity with each other.
»In the Hour of Signs« (1996) tells the story of the British conquest of at the end of the 19th century. The book transforms both protagonists of the conflict, the Muslim leader Mohammed Ahmed, called Mahdi, and the English General Gordon into symbolic figures. The main characters are farmers, shepherds or simple soldiers, and the uprising is described from their perspective as country dwellers or representatives of the colonial power. Mahjoub’s historical novel »The Carrier« (1998) deals with one of the pivotal moments in European thought: the development of the telescope and the corresponding astronomical methods of calculation, which paved the way for the heliocentric view of the world and the separation of science and religion. Mahjoub described his motivation: »I was fascinated by the question of why such a significant change in thought as marked by the Renaissance in Europe, didn’t occur in the Islamic world.« The young scholar Rashid al-Kenzy, son of a Nubian slave and falsely accused of murder, is reprieved by the dey of Algiers on condition that Rashid procure him the optical device, of whose capabilities people tell the most wondrous tales – and thus Rashid sets out on a long journey. In 2006 Majoub published his novel »Nubian Indigo«, whose story is set during the construction of the Aswan High Dam. »The Drift Latitudes« (2007) has present-day London as its setting. A successful architect, daughter of an immigrant from Trinidad and a German father whom she can hardly remember, receives several letters from her half-sister in , which cause her to begin to deal with her background.
The author has been awarded the Prix d’Astrobale for the novel »Travelling with Djinns« (2003) and the Guardian/Heinemann African Short Story Prize. After spending many years in the Danish city of Aarhus, Mahjoub is now living in Barcelona.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 29, 2024
Uzun süredir rafta okunmayı bekliyordu; okudum. Son sayfayı bitirince arka kapakla okumaya devam ettim. İlk cümleden falso verdi ve devam etti. Sanırım kuşların çinko damı gagalama sorunsalı gibi sorunları olabiliyor arka kapakların:)
İpek tüccarının kölesinden bir oğlu oluyor. Tüccarın esas oğlundan daha akıllı olunca kapı gözüküyor. Yol bu denizde de karada da devam ediyor. İki kez iki büyük kütüphanede soluklanıyor. Okuyor, okuyor ve iki kadına gönlünü kaptırıyor. Evet evet aşk onu kütüphanelerde buluyor. Halkın bilinmeze yüklediği korkuyu, hurafeyi ve bilime koyduğu mesafeyi iki farklı zaman diliminde anlatıyor. Hikaye sarktı, bir yere varamadı ama bana şehir içi yolculuklarımda iyi arkadaş oldu. Anlatının görselliği özellikle karakter anlatımlarında güzeldi. Ama gemi battı, kölenin oğlu oradan oraya savrulurken yıldızları çok merak etti.
En iyisi çıkıp gökyüzüne bakıp Demirkazık’a bir göz kırpmak.
İpek tüccarının kölesinden bir oğlu oluyor. Tüccarın esas oğlundan daha akıllı olunca kapı gözüküyor. Yol bu denizde de karada da devam ediyor. İki kez iki büyük kütüphanede soluklanıyor. Okuyor, okuyor ve iki kadına gönlünü kaptırıyor. Evet evet aşk onu kütüphanelerde buluyor. Halkın bilinmeze yüklediği korkuyu, hurafeyi ve bilime koyduğu mesafeyi iki farklı zaman diliminde anlatıyor. Hikaye sarktı, bir yere varamadı ama bana şehir içi yolculuklarımda iyi arkadaş oldu. Anlatının görselliği özellikle karakter anlatımlarında güzeldi. Ama gemi battı, kölenin oğlu oradan oraya savrulurken yıldızları çok merak etti.
En iyisi çıkıp gökyüzüne bakıp Demirkazık’a bir göz kırpmak.
May 9, 2014
çeviri vasat. çokça çeviren notuna ihtiyaç varken, hiç konulmaması nedeniyle akmayan bir roman olmuş. heyecanlı bir yolculuk beklerken bulamamak, içsel yolculuk beklerken bulamamak, iki karakter arasında bağ kurmaya çalışmak ama kuramamak, meçhuller denizinde kaybolmak bu kitabın hashtagleri olabilir.
January 5, 2009
Came highly praised, I found it rather unremarkable. But I'm not a big fan of the genre (historic fiction) anyway.
March 11, 2017
Semerkand tadında bir kitap olduğunu hayal ederek almıştım fakat alakası yok; içimi çok sıktı :(
July 14, 2023
Wat een verrassing. Had nog nooit van dit boek gehoord maar toen ik het tegenkwam sprak het onderwerp me enorm aan: zoektocht en honger naar kennis en wetenschap in de 16e eeuw en een ontmoeting tussen het oosten (lees: islamitische wereld) en westen (lees: Europa). En het is goed geschreven. Heel levendig. Neemt je echt mee in de sfeer van de plekken waar het zich afspeelt en met de mensen uit het verhaal. Hier wordt ik echt warm van!
April 9, 2021
İki farklı zaman ve de mekanda anlatılıyor Raşid'in hikâyesi fakat anlatının geçtiği mekanlar, karakterler, duygular hep yarım. 1700'lerde geçen Cezayir ve Hollanda arasındaki anlatıda kısa süren deniz yolculuğu başarılı bir fikir fakat anlatı içerisinde sürekli bahsi geçen duygular sizi tatmin etmiyor. Karakterlerle oluşturulmaya çalışılan tanışıklıklara rağmen de kendinizi hep yabancı hissediyorsunuz. Olaylar bazen çok hızlı bazen de rastlantısal gerçekleşiyor bu da başarılı bir yazarlıktan uzak bir okumaya sebebiyet veriyor. Belki karakterleri derinine işlemektense yazar duyguları merkeze almak istemiş olabilir diye düşündüm ancak ne ortadaki merak, ne tutku, ne mistisizm, ne de aşk anlatısı sizi tatmin ediyor. Araya serpiştirilmiş bilim tarihi sohbetleri veya doğu-batı çatışması fikirleri popüler bilgilerin ötesine geçmekte başarısız. Hâliyle iyi bir bilim tarihi okur yazarı için oldukça yetersiz kalıyor. Ancak çok da hakkını yemek istemiyorum. Hikâyeyi günümüzde geçen bir arkeoloji kazı çevresinde anlatması yeterince sürükleyici olmasa da fikir olarak hoş ve de kitabı bırakmadan devam edebilmek için de yardımcı bir unsur oluşturuyor. Keşke Raşid o kütüphanede daha çok vakit geçirip daha çok aşk yaşadığı kadınla sohbetlerde bulunsaydı, deniz yolculuğu daha uzun sürseydi ve de dürbünün öyküsüne daha güzel değinilseydi.
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September 17, 2022Hayatım boyunca beni bu kadar çok sıkan, iki kez okumak istememe rağmen ilkinde yarım bıraktığım ikincisinde de zorla bitirdiğim başka bir kitap yoktur zannedersem. Yazarın emeklerine saygı duyuyorum ama ben bu kitap kadar vasat romanların ender olduğuna inanıyorum. Birisine hediye edeyim desem "kitaplığında durmasını istemediği için bana hediye etti" diyerek eleştirir.
January 7, 2023
words cannot describe what this book means to me, i haven't read this level of high literature since 1984, definitely my favorite book not only of 2023 but ever
a big thank you to my literature teacher for letting me borrow her copy of this book and allowing me to read this masterpiece <3
a big thank you to my literature teacher for letting me borrow her copy of this book and allowing me to read this masterpiece <3
January 27, 2023
sevgili Jamal'ciğim, böyle bir kitap yazsaydım ben de çok Mahjoub olurdum ele güne karşı
August 7, 2024
İyi çeviri, Amin Maalouf severseniz hoşunuza gider.
May 7, 2012
The novel's twin strands of the modern-day historical/archaeological investigation and the 17th century story which it unfolds, echo the central themes of the intertwining of East and West at a critical point in the scientific field and the cultural barriers for the key individuals which are created through prejudice and fear.
The historical tale is evocatively written and is an engagingly ripping yarn. The added dimensions of how fear and ignorance block scientific advance and the focus on the characters who manage to escape or transcend the cultural barriers give the novel some added texture and depth.
I didn't find the final part of the novel as satisfying as the rest, but it's still a good read overall. It contrives to address some uncomfortable themes and deliver relevant historical background without leaving readers feeling they've been too earnestly lectured; it kept me turning the pages and left me wanting to read more by the author.
The historical tale is evocatively written and is an engagingly ripping yarn. The added dimensions of how fear and ignorance block scientific advance and the focus on the characters who manage to escape or transcend the cultural barriers give the novel some added texture and depth.
I didn't find the final part of the novel as satisfying as the rest, but it's still a good read overall. It contrives to address some uncomfortable themes and deliver relevant historical background without leaving readers feeling they've been too earnestly lectured; it kept me turning the pages and left me wanting to read more by the author.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews