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مؤامرة مهرجين
Summoned home to Egypt after a long European debauch (disguised as study ), our hero Teymour in the opening line of A Splendid Conspiracy is feeling as unlucky as a flea on a bald man s head. Poor Teymour sits forlorn in a provincial cafe, a far cry from his beloved Paris. Two old friends, however, rescue him. They applaud his phony diploma as perfect in a world where everything is false and they draw him into their hedonistic rounds as gentlemen of leisure. Life, they explain, while essentially pointless is extremely interesting. The small city may seem tedious, but there are women to seduce, powerful men to tease, and also strange events: rich notables are disappearing.Eyeing the machinations of our three pleasure seekers and nervous about the missing rich men, the authorities soon see in complex schemes to bed young girls signs of political conspiracies. The three young men, although mistaken for terrorists, enjoy freedom, wit, and romance. After all, though not every man is capable of appreciating what is around him, the conspirators in pleasure certainly do.
220 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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About the author
Albert Cossery
27 books263 followersAlbert Cossery (November 3, 1913 – June 22, 2008) was an Egyptian-born French writer of Greek Orthodox Syrian and Lebanese descent, born in Cairo.
Son of small property owners in Cairo, at the age of 17, inspired by reading Honoré de Balzac, Albert Cossery ( Arabic: البرت قصيري) emigrated to Paris. He came there to continue his studies which he never did devote himself to, writing and settled permanently in the French capital in 1945, where he lived until his death in 2008.
In 60 years he only wrote eight novels, in accordance with his philosophy of life in which "laziness" is not a vice but a form of contemplation and meditation. In his own words: "So much beauty in the world, so few eyes to see it." At the age of 27 he published his first book, Les hommes oubliés de Dieu ("Men God Forgot"). During his literary career he became close friend of other writers and artists such as Lawrence Durrell, Albert Camus, Jean Genet and Giacometti.
Cossery died on June 22, 2008, aged 94.
His books, which always take place in Egypt or other Arab countries, portray the contrast between poverty and wealth, the powerful and the powerless, in a witty although dramatic way. His writing mocks vanity and the narrowness of materialism and his principal characters are mainly vangrants, thieves or dandies that subvert the order of an unfair society.
Son of small property owners in Cairo, at the age of 17, inspired by reading Honoré de Balzac, Albert Cossery ( Arabic: البرت قصيري) emigrated to Paris. He came there to continue his studies which he never did devote himself to, writing and settled permanently in the French capital in 1945, where he lived until his death in 2008.
In 60 years he only wrote eight novels, in accordance with his philosophy of life in which "laziness" is not a vice but a form of contemplation and meditation. In his own words: "So much beauty in the world, so few eyes to see it." At the age of 27 he published his first book, Les hommes oubliés de Dieu ("Men God Forgot"). During his literary career he became close friend of other writers and artists such as Lawrence Durrell, Albert Camus, Jean Genet and Giacometti.
Cossery died on June 22, 2008, aged 94.
His books, which always take place in Egypt or other Arab countries, portray the contrast between poverty and wealth, the powerful and the powerless, in a witty although dramatic way. His writing mocks vanity and the narrowness of materialism and his principal characters are mainly vangrants, thieves or dandies that subvert the order of an unfair society.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
July 13, 2022
المتعة هي ما يبحث عنه أبطال رواية ألبير قصيري
فلسفة الاستمتاع الدائم وعدم المبالاة بكل ما يبدو مهم أو ثابت فكريا ومجتمعيا
الرغبة في العيش على الهامش والحياة في حرية أو فوضى بحسب القناعات الفردية
الأحداث تدور في مدينة كئيبة مجهولة وكأن ساكنيها من المهرجين
كل منهم يؤدي عرض خاص وكل مُشاهد يفهمه بطريقة مختلفة
فلسفة الاستمتاع الدائم وعدم المبالاة بكل ما يبدو مهم أو ثابت فكريا ومجتمعيا
الرغبة في العيش على الهامش والحياة في حرية أو فوضى بحسب القناعات الفردية
الأحداث تدور في مدينة كئيبة مجهولة وكأن ساكنيها من المهرجين
كل منهم يؤدي عرض خاص وكل مُشاهد يفهمه بطريقة مختلفة
January 20, 2022
تمثال صحوة الامة الذي أنشأته الحكومة دليل على عهد جديدا وليكون خير عون لشحذ همم سكان المدينة الغارقين في الثبات ، لم يكن في الحقيقة سوى شاهد على عبث العالم و غباء السلطات وانحطاط البشر ولكن كبارقة امل او الافضل ان نقول كانعدام الامل المريح والمهدئ تتبنى تلك المجموعة الصغيرة من اشباه المهرجين - هم على وعي تام بالاعيب الحضارة - فلسفة ترتكز على السخرية و اللذة في مواجهة العبث ، في نظر البير قصيري برغم من العبثية التامة ف لا سبيل لمشاعر الكراهية وخيبة الامل ، فالعالم سيرك ممتع والبشر اراجوزات لا يستحقون الكراهية بل السخرية والشفقة
September 17, 2024
This book cleverly satirizes societal norms and is filled with misunderstandings, jokes, and antics. The government, however, interprets the carefree heroes of our story, who love to have fun, as a criminal association planning a terrorist plot. If laughter and fun are now seen as terrorism, then perhaps they do deserve their prison sentence. Some might even argue for the death penalty.
It's best to avoid reading this book publicly; our societies don't kindly tolerate solitary laughter. ;-)
It's best to avoid reading this book publicly; our societies don't kindly tolerate solitary laughter. ;-)
August 22, 2018
(review in English below)
3,5 *
Gostei da escrita, gostei da história, gostei do humor subtil e da crítica social, mas por alguma razão não me convenceu totalmente.
Sobre um dos personagens principais, Medhat, quase nada ficamos a saber, embora ele seja o pivô de toda a história, foi pena.
De qualquer modo, fiquei com vontade de ler mais deste autor.
3.5
I enjoyed the writing, and the story, and the subtle humour and the social criticism, but for some reason I was not completely sold.
About one of the main characters, Medhat, we end up knowing almost nothing, although he's the pivot of the whole story, it was a pity.
Anyway, I'm willing to read more by this author.
3,5 *
Gostei da escrita, gostei da história, gostei do humor subtil e da crítica social, mas por alguma razão não me convenceu totalmente.
Sobre um dos personagens principais, Medhat, quase nada ficamos a saber, embora ele seja o pivô de toda a história, foi pena.
De qualquer modo, fiquei com vontade de ler mais deste autor.
3.5
I enjoyed the writing, and the story, and the subtle humour and the social criticism, but for some reason I was not completely sold.
About one of the main characters, Medhat, we end up knowing almost nothing, although he's the pivot of the whole story, it was a pity.
Anyway, I'm willing to read more by this author.
November 7, 2017
"Uma conjura de saltimbancos é o género de romances que se devem ler, quanto mais não seja por uma questão de saúde. Cossery, de modo sereno, subtil e malicioso, não só nos proporciona prazer com as suas histórias, como ainda nos ajuda a preservar a saúde mental."
Alguns textos das badanas dos livros são enganadores. O citado, acima, não.
Posso estar irritada, triste, lamurienta, desgostosa,... mas se leio um bocadinho de Cossery lá se me vai o meu momento trágico.
Alguns textos das badanas dos livros são enganadores. O citado, acima, não.
Posso estar irritada, triste, lamurienta, desgostosa,... mas se leio um bocadinho de Cossery lá se me vai o meu momento trágico.
December 18, 2015
I was led to this book by some reviews I had read online, and came under the impression that its author held to a "philosophy of laziness". This indeed is true, but I soon realized my misinterpretation of the term. If the sympathetic characters in this novel were an example of this philosophy, it's not laziness in the traditional sense of sloth and lack of motivation. No, it is more a form of protest against the traditional means of blind ambition, and conventional goals such as promotions and diplomas. In fact, I would say Cossery's philosophy is antithetical to "laziness" as we commonly know the term, because he is all about an active appreciation of the world and all its buffoonery... by ridicule, pranks, and joyous comradery.
Inherent in this philosophy is a rebellious attitude, but there is nothing of the political in this rebellion. He does not want to change the world, but only realize the absurdity of it and laugh at it. Furthermore, there is no better place in the world to go to find such things with which to amuse yourself than right in your hometown, wherever you are, for the world and its inhabitants are the same everywhere.
Once I realized this was his worldview, I really began to admire this novel because I personally have zero ambition for the kind of material wealth and status that most people have (although I do disagree with certain elements of this worldview, but I will get to that at the end of my review). So I felt a kind of kinship with the characters.
True to its leisurely philosophy, this book has almost no conflict in the traditional sense, and yet I found myself amused and pulled along with every chapter. I didn't find the lack of conflict dull at all, as if the book was saying "look here, there are so many entertaining things in the commonplace and silly human lot that you don't need a hotly contrived plot with conflicts at every corner to amuse yourself". In fact, as if to show you this point, there was a contrived plot in this book--a bunch of notable rich men had disappeared mysteriously in the town--but the book almost laughs at it, treating it as a side-story with little to no importance.
Although this idea of laziness was central to this book, it didn't feel like a "Message" with a capital M but more like an embedded attitude that infuses the book with a sort of lackadaisical quality similar to a fun laid back romp around town. I found the book to be thoroughly pleasant, and the writing to be incisively funny, and the characters to be a pleasure, especially his way of slowly introducing the backstories of each character and filling us in on where they were coming from.
My only reservation would be that the book sometimes treats women, especially young women, as kind of periphery sexual pleasures.
Another reservation in terms of ideas presented: the critique of material wealth is done by wealthy characters in good standing, who could afford not working. I found this kind of convenient and impractical and even a bit hypocritical. However, I do agree that you can work for a living and still not subscribe to the constant rat race of material wealth--it's an attitude that is not about working or not. It's about wanting to climb the myth of the social ladder or not.
Inherent in this philosophy is a rebellious attitude, but there is nothing of the political in this rebellion. He does not want to change the world, but only realize the absurdity of it and laugh at it. Furthermore, there is no better place in the world to go to find such things with which to amuse yourself than right in your hometown, wherever you are, for the world and its inhabitants are the same everywhere.
Once I realized this was his worldview, I really began to admire this novel because I personally have zero ambition for the kind of material wealth and status that most people have (although I do disagree with certain elements of this worldview, but I will get to that at the end of my review). So I felt a kind of kinship with the characters.
True to its leisurely philosophy, this book has almost no conflict in the traditional sense, and yet I found myself amused and pulled along with every chapter. I didn't find the lack of conflict dull at all, as if the book was saying "look here, there are so many entertaining things in the commonplace and silly human lot that you don't need a hotly contrived plot with conflicts at every corner to amuse yourself". In fact, as if to show you this point, there was a contrived plot in this book--a bunch of notable rich men had disappeared mysteriously in the town--but the book almost laughs at it, treating it as a side-story with little to no importance.
Although this idea of laziness was central to this book, it didn't feel like a "Message" with a capital M but more like an embedded attitude that infuses the book with a sort of lackadaisical quality similar to a fun laid back romp around town. I found the book to be thoroughly pleasant, and the writing to be incisively funny, and the characters to be a pleasure, especially his way of slowly introducing the backstories of each character and filling us in on where they were coming from.
My only reservation would be that the book sometimes treats women, especially young women, as kind of periphery sexual pleasures.
Another reservation in terms of ideas presented: the critique of material wealth is done by wealthy characters in good standing, who could afford not working. I found this kind of convenient and impractical and even a bit hypocritical. However, I do agree that you can work for a living and still not subscribe to the constant rat race of material wealth--it's an attitude that is not about working or not. It's about wanting to climb the myth of the social ladder or not.
May 9, 2010
Anyone who is a friend of Boris Vian is a friend of mine. And Albert Cossery is very close to the aesthetic quality of the Prince of St. Germain-des-Prés. This is the first novel I have read by Cossery, and because of it I am now a loyal follower of this magnificent Egyptian born, but hardcore Parisian writer.
"A Splendid Conspiracy" (Un Complot de Saltimbanques) is a novel about three young friends among other citizens of a small town in Egypt. One is a police informer, the other a European traveler who tasted the good life, and the third is basically a nihilist punk who is über-smart.
Through these three characters, we see small town conservative life and its under-current of sexual adventure, decadence, and possible series of murder. But all of this serves in the background and its interesting how Cossery introduces each character and how they become part of the narrative. Life is a remarkable adventure and this book reads as a map to appreciate your location as well as how things are connected by the dots, but those dots can lead you to something strange, scary, weird, or ...sexy.
The book is translated by Alyson Waters and the language flows easily. A classic. And of course it is published by New Directions. His other novel "The Jokers" will be published by NYRB. So he's in good company.
"A Splendid Conspiracy" (Un Complot de Saltimbanques) is a novel about three young friends among other citizens of a small town in Egypt. One is a police informer, the other a European traveler who tasted the good life, and the third is basically a nihilist punk who is über-smart.
Through these three characters, we see small town conservative life and its under-current of sexual adventure, decadence, and possible series of murder. But all of this serves in the background and its interesting how Cossery introduces each character and how they become part of the narrative. Life is a remarkable adventure and this book reads as a map to appreciate your location as well as how things are connected by the dots, but those dots can lead you to something strange, scary, weird, or ...sexy.
The book is translated by Alyson Waters and the language flows easily. A classic. And of course it is published by New Directions. His other novel "The Jokers" will be published by NYRB. So he's in good company.
February 14, 2014
The story is good, the style is easy to read, but what makes this book exceptional is the attitude. Before reading Cossery, I could not have imagined how something could be so cynical and at the same time so full of life. From page 171-2:
"It was not yet his time to die; he still needed to live in order to see just how far man's infamy could brazenly spread beneath the sun without provoking the slightest outcry from the universe."
This is an overwhelmingly joyful novel. Cossery is an anarchist, with total contempt for authority and convention, but he shows no hint of bitterness or puritanism. The dreary society, the corrupt government, the most villainous characters, are ultimately harmless and ridiculous, deserving pity and inspiring amusement.
In Cossery's morality, evil does not arise from selfishness but from fixation, being unable to let go. Ordinary people are trapped in a mental prison of conventional social status; a student is driven to self-destruction by romantic obsession; a wealthy landlord's lust and vanity make him easily manipulated; a police chief stubbornly believes in a political conspiracy to make his empty life feel meaningful.
The secret of happiness is to not hold tension between the world as it is and the world as you want it to be, but to accept the dreadful reality and learn to see the life that grows between the cracks. Living well means letting go of striving, appreciating the world in front of you, loving each other unselfishly, forgiving your enemies, and seizing every opportunity to have a good time.
"It was not yet his time to die; he still needed to live in order to see just how far man's infamy could brazenly spread beneath the sun without provoking the slightest outcry from the universe."
This is an overwhelmingly joyful novel. Cossery is an anarchist, with total contempt for authority and convention, but he shows no hint of bitterness or puritanism. The dreary society, the corrupt government, the most villainous characters, are ultimately harmless and ridiculous, deserving pity and inspiring amusement.
In Cossery's morality, evil does not arise from selfishness but from fixation, being unable to let go. Ordinary people are trapped in a mental prison of conventional social status; a student is driven to self-destruction by romantic obsession; a wealthy landlord's lust and vanity make him easily manipulated; a police chief stubbornly believes in a political conspiracy to make his empty life feel meaningful.
The secret of happiness is to not hold tension between the world as it is and the world as you want it to be, but to accept the dreadful reality and learn to see the life that grows between the cracks. Living well means letting go of striving, appreciating the world in front of you, loving each other unselfishly, forgiving your enemies, and seizing every opportunity to have a good time.
September 10, 2024
One of those disgustingly good novels that revel in their own nastiness and debauchery.
February 6, 2013
Very enjoyable.
February 21, 2011
"Yes, I knew you were working for the police. But it doesn't matter! I also know what a man is reduced to in order to earn his daily bread. Your profession is no different from any other. By whatever means you participate in this despicable world, even by the tiniest job, you inevitably betray someone. We live in a society based on betrayal. That's why your job as an informant never seemed dishonorable to me. I've always liked you."
The characters in Albert Cossery's bohemian romp, A Splendid Conspiracy, meander about in their sorry excuse for a city searching in cafes, alleyways and brothels for the life of a dandy. As close as you'll get to an homage to the life of a libertine, Cossery introduces three young gentleman whose most pressing interest is to live the true life of a bon-vivant in their fair Egyptian city. There's Teymour, a young gent from a well-off family who just spent six years in Paris tasting only the best of women and wine while his father thought his toiling away earning a chemical engineering degree so that he could work in a factory of which he owns stock. Teymour does return with the degree, but only because he paid top dollar for a replica of a real degree in order to continue his self-education:
From the very outset of his stay abroad, he had to admit that he never could have imagined such magnificent debauchery. Amazed at the variety of sensual pleasures, the multitude of temptations, he devoted himself furiously to them all, continually putting off his tiresome studies. Even had he wanted to, he couldn't have found enough spare time for any serious activity. Little by little he managed to persuade himself that it would be a waste of his time and his youth to study all those absurd subjects destined to turn him into a functionary. Consequently, he had not enrolled in any university, had not bought a single chemistry book; instead he had purchased a stylish and costly wardrobe that was indispensable to his taste for show. During endless nights he had made love to sublime women and experienced emotions and adventures of all kinds. A few months of this glorious existence had sufficed to make him forget that he was there to earn a degree, except for those rare occasions when he receive a letter from his father worrying about the state and progress of his learning. This call to order mortified Teymour for a few hours; then he got caught up once again in the pulse of his new life and thought no more about it.
His childhood friend, Medhat, is a soft-hearted family man who does so out of guilt not love and spends his evening in the arms of any such young lovely. And rounding of the debauched trio is Imatz, a handsome actor who gave up acting because, even though practically blind, he refuses to wear glasses and caused a scandal when he made a mistake on stage that made the public question his 'virility'.
This group takes looking for the easy way out to new heights. They loaf around the city, jawing about the foolish life of those who work. Who among us wouldn't like to abandon our jobs and partake in all the vices a city can offer? Those in the real world know that food and housing call and the life of Reilly is none too helpful when it comes to paying the bills. No such worries for our three friends. No they have other worries--like the rich men of the city keep disappearing and the police chief, Hillali, thinks this dangerous trio is responsible. With this in mind, he employs the help of a young boy, Rezk, who is more of a kindred spirit with the three bohemians than he is with Hillali. Rezk is poor and is paid modestly to be a mole for Hillali and is sent to shadow Teymour and his friends for any behavior that will reveal their guilt. They couldn't be less guilty because they seek only the pleasures of the city and aren't interested in anything that takes planning, evil and effort. All the connections between these characters comes to a head with each of their involvements with the old lascivious lech, Chawki.
There's also several torrid and blossoming love affairs, most disturbing is Teymour's affair with Felfel, Rezk sister. Felfel is a young Lolita of a girl working as a circus performer/girl-for-hire who seems to be, well, under sixteen. Of course Teymour moves in with this nubile schoolgirl, shacking up in a sparsely decorated apartment in the seedier part of town. Ah, young, illegal love.
By the end of the A Splendid Conspiracy, mystery solved and love affairs settle down into a quiet domesticity. Written in a style that feels similar to early 20th century novels, I couldn't help but think of Robert Walser while I was reading Cossery. Alyson Waters does a good job with the translation so that Cossery's satircal, highbrow prose comes through and does so evenly. This is a novel that extols the virtues of life well-lived, but not in the way most people think of it. Cossery wants is to explore the pleasures of the life around us instead of thinking that they always lie in places we are not. A true guidebook for the debauchee, it is a fun read although perhaps not having the weight to be taken as a serious novel. Which is just fine with Cossery, I am guessing.
June 18, 2021
هل تحولت المؤامرة المنتسبة إلى مهرجين إلى حقيقة ولكنها حقيقة عبثية؟
من الممكن أن نقول نعم، ولكنها ظلت مؤامرة مهرجين.
من الممكن أن نقول نعم، ولكنها ظلت مؤامرة مهرجين.
March 8, 2019
أعجبتني الرواية لغرابتها ... للروح الساخرة الطاغية عليها وعلى أبطالها " المهرجين" ومؤامرتهم المذهلة والمثيرة .. وستجد أنك تقرأ رواية عبر كاتبها بأسلوب بسيط وسلس عن واقع الحياة في مصر في الستينيات وما قبل النكسة .. حيث سيطر على بعض قادة أجهزة الأمن نظرية المؤامرة .. هنا يبرع ألبير قصيري في تصويرها على أنها مؤامرة فعلا ولكنها عبثية ، إنها مؤامرة مهرجين يديرها مهرج كبير يطارد مهرجين صغار عبثيين لا يشغل عقلهم أي شيء إلا الاستغراق في ملذات الحياة بكل أنواعها .. وهنا تتجلى روح التهكم عند الروائي الظريف فيسخر من غباء جهاز الأمن . وانشغاله بمراقبة مجموعة من العابثين اللاهين ال>ين لا يدل على سلوك أي منهم انتمائه لأي تيار سياسي ولا حتى انشغاله بأحوال بلده ومآسيها .. مما يتسبب في تكرار حادث اختفاء بعض الأعيان في هذه المدينة بطلة أحداث الرواية وهي كما وصفها دون ذكر أو تحديد اسمها " مدينة ريفية من مدن الوجه البحري "
الرواية تجمع بين كونها ساخرة ومسلية ومشوقة وبين كونها تشير لفترة من تاريخ مصر سادت فيها نظرية المؤامرة الداخلية وانشغال ولاة الأمر بها لحد الهوس وربما مطاردة شباب ساذج وبريء وكتاب ومثقفين وأصحاب رأي ، فكانت النتيجة هي كارثة وقوع مؤامرة خارجية أدت إلى نكسة وهزيمة مروعة عام 67
أحببت أسلوب ألبير قصيري السلس والظريف ، وروح التهكم المحببة التي تطل من عبارات أبطاله ساخرين من واقع مرير ، وقد برع في تحويل المهزلة إلى نكتة موجعة مضحكة
الرواية تجمع بين كونها ساخرة ومسلية ومشوقة وبين كونها تشير لفترة من تاريخ مصر سادت فيها نظرية المؤامرة الداخلية وانشغال ولاة الأمر بها لحد الهوس وربما مطاردة شباب ساذج وبريء وكتاب ومثقفين وأصحاب رأي ، فكانت النتيجة هي كارثة وقوع مؤامرة خارجية أدت إلى نكسة وهزيمة مروعة عام 67
أحببت أسلوب ألبير قصيري السلس والظريف ، وروح التهكم المحببة التي تطل من عبارات أبطاله ساخرين من واقع مرير ، وقد برع في تحويل المهزلة إلى نكتة موجعة مضحكة
February 19, 2021
Leitura fácil e super interessante, com uma série de personagens tão diferentes que é caso para dizer “cada maluco com a sua pancada.”
O livro tem com um dos temas predominantes o ócio “profissional” e o quão divertido este se pode tornar.
Outra tema predominante, este bastante invulgar, é a rapidez e facilidade com que as recém-adolescentes da cidade em que a história decorre, são levadas ou nalguns casos se fazem levar a perder a virgindade.
“Não fazer nada é uma actividade interior.”
- Albert Cossery
O livro tem com um dos temas predominantes o ócio “profissional” e o quão divertido este se pode tornar.
Outra tema predominante, este bastante invulgar, é a rapidez e facilidade com que as recém-adolescentes da cidade em que a história decorre, são levadas ou nalguns casos se fazem levar a perder a virgindade.
“Não fazer nada é uma actividade interior.”
- Albert Cossery
March 16, 2012
Splendidly enjoyable. Vianesque, pessoptimist. An enthusiasm of a bizarre and dangerous orchid raised out of fetid earth. A light and airy entertainment.
July 24, 2019
الرواية بدأت بشكل كويس .. بس مش عارف بقى ايه اللي حصل .. محبتهاش خالص
August 31, 2021
A very funny novel about a trio of hedonists who lay about in cafes and chase girls, perpetually under observation by a burnt out police official who suspects them as terrorists committing a series of fatal kidnappings.
The punch line is that nothing ever appears as it seems: the police official appears powerful but is merely pathetic, a rich con man with an appetite for underage girls is much, much less than he seems, a cuckolded wife isn't as honest as she appears to be, etc.
A Splendid Conspiracy takes its time setting up several plots and subplots with most of them fading fast before they can pay off: a short con involving an underage prostitute sets up and then fades out without a punchline, so on and so forth. Albert Cossery confessed he was a bit of a lazy writer, and it makes itself apparent by the end of this entertaining novel.
The punch line is that nothing ever appears as it seems: the police official appears powerful but is merely pathetic, a rich con man with an appetite for underage girls is much, much less than he seems, a cuckolded wife isn't as honest as she appears to be, etc.
A Splendid Conspiracy takes its time setting up several plots and subplots with most of them fading fast before they can pay off: a short con involving an underage prostitute sets up and then fades out without a punchline, so on and so forth. Albert Cossery confessed he was a bit of a lazy writer, and it makes itself apparent by the end of this entertaining novel.
February 18, 2022
أعتقد أن ألبير قصيرى أصبح من كُتّابي المفضلين للغاية. يكتب بأسلوب لم أجد له مثيل. لا أحداث تذكر، لكن سرده يحكي الكثير.
July 30, 2011
Breeze of a read that's definitely after bigger things than just being a breezy read. This is something in the Absurdist Analogy line of fiction, and reminiscent of both Beckett and Witold Gombrowicz for the centrality of humor amidst the dire circumstances.
A characteristic development is when a rising film star (called Imtaz here) ignores his nearsightedness for years, eventually crashing his career profoundly when he rushes passionately onstage, into the arms of the wrong character --in fact one who turns out to be not the blushing ingenue, but his male rival :
"Humiliated by this tragic mishap, he was forced to withdraw from the public eye: he no longer felt up to appearing on stage opposite actors who were becoming more and more invisible to him. One more gaffe like that, and he would be stoned to death. He would be cornered into revealing a secret no one knew, not even his closest friends...
His myopia, growing worse each year, was the bane of his acting career because Imtaz, not wanting to disappoint all those women who admired his tremendous good looks, refused to wear glasses. Wearing glasses on stage seemed unbefitting given the virile, womanizing roles that ordinarily fell to him. He did not even wear them in town, and so people took him to be haughty and distant, an attitude completely foreign to his nature. And indeed, his shortsightedness gave his gaze the impenetrable and secretive air that lay at the very heart of his legend. All his power over crowds-- and especially over women-- he owed to the perpetual dim surroundings in which he moved: human beings, with their indistinct outlines, seemed to have absolutely no influence over his fate. His indifference to the atttentions of his enthusiastic public, to feminine smiles and glances-- for the simple reason that he could not see them--- made him appear to be a charismatic, disdainful idol convinced of his own flawlessness. Imtaz knew that his fame depended entirely on this imposture and he could not bring himself to destroy the myth he embodied by revealing his infirmity to the world..."
There are more than a few juxtapositions of opposites in this story. Cossery is casually concerned with the hypocrisy of it all but always moves toward the funny, human inevitability of clashing motives and morals. The central symbol of the book --and of the town where it unfolds-- is a political statue called "The Awakening" ... something the masses in this snoozy backwater seemed to have overlooked, and the place, in the main square, that the homeless choose for a really good sleep.
The priorities here are reliably upside-down, and Cossery's discovery in A Splendid Conspiracy is that there is no Conspiracy after all, though maybe there is some Splendor in the confusion.
Looking forward to others from this author's narrow shelf.
(and oh yes, the translation feels seamless and unforced, surely the right signs in a tongue-in-cheek shaggy dogger like this one...)
A characteristic development is when a rising film star (called Imtaz here) ignores his nearsightedness for years, eventually crashing his career profoundly when he rushes passionately onstage, into the arms of the wrong character --in fact one who turns out to be not the blushing ingenue, but his male rival :
"Humiliated by this tragic mishap, he was forced to withdraw from the public eye: he no longer felt up to appearing on stage opposite actors who were becoming more and more invisible to him. One more gaffe like that, and he would be stoned to death. He would be cornered into revealing a secret no one knew, not even his closest friends...
His myopia, growing worse each year, was the bane of his acting career because Imtaz, not wanting to disappoint all those women who admired his tremendous good looks, refused to wear glasses. Wearing glasses on stage seemed unbefitting given the virile, womanizing roles that ordinarily fell to him. He did not even wear them in town, and so people took him to be haughty and distant, an attitude completely foreign to his nature. And indeed, his shortsightedness gave his gaze the impenetrable and secretive air that lay at the very heart of his legend. All his power over crowds-- and especially over women-- he owed to the perpetual dim surroundings in which he moved: human beings, with their indistinct outlines, seemed to have absolutely no influence over his fate. His indifference to the atttentions of his enthusiastic public, to feminine smiles and glances-- for the simple reason that he could not see them--- made him appear to be a charismatic, disdainful idol convinced of his own flawlessness. Imtaz knew that his fame depended entirely on this imposture and he could not bring himself to destroy the myth he embodied by revealing his infirmity to the world..."
There are more than a few juxtapositions of opposites in this story. Cossery is casually concerned with the hypocrisy of it all but always moves toward the funny, human inevitability of clashing motives and morals. The central symbol of the book --and of the town where it unfolds-- is a political statue called "The Awakening" ... something the masses in this snoozy backwater seemed to have overlooked, and the place, in the main square, that the homeless choose for a really good sleep.
The priorities here are reliably upside-down, and Cossery's discovery in A Splendid Conspiracy is that there is no Conspiracy after all, though maybe there is some Splendor in the confusion.
Looking forward to others from this author's narrow shelf.
(and oh yes, the translation feels seamless and unforced, surely the right signs in a tongue-in-cheek shaggy dogger like this one...)
February 14, 2020
رواية أبطالها يبحثون عن المتعة ويلولذون بها ويهربون من مواجهة الواقع إليها، ذكرتني برواية نجيب محفوظ "ثرثرة فوق النيل"
December 22, 2018
التجربة الاولي مع ألبير قصيري لم تكن بقدر عالي من الامتاع
وجدت نفسي في قصه تفتقر الي عنصر الاثاره والتشويق بشكل كبير و كأن هذا متعمدا لينقل اليك الكاتب بروده و سخافه المكان والشخصيات التي جائت جميعها تقريبا تفتقر الي الحد الادني من الاخلاقيات
فذلك المكان الهادئ الذي كان يجري فيه اختفاء شخصيات علي درجه من الثراء في ظروف غامضه و تدور شكوك قائد الشرطه حول شله من الشباب العابث ظنا منه انها مؤامره ثوريه خبيثه لنزع الامن و الامان بدلا من ان يتقصي خط سير المختفين لينتهي في جميع الحالات عند نفس النقطه و هي بيت مشبوه في احد الازقه النائيه
جائت شخصيه قائد الشرطه صادمه و مثيره للشفقه الي حد كبير فقد جاء طول الوقت يتبع منهج ساذج في التفكير تؤدي به الي استنتاجات مغلوطه و كأن روحه و عقله قد اصابتهم الشيخوخه
مشهد وفاه والد رزق جاء مقزز الي حد لا يوصف
وجدت نفسي في قصه تفتقر الي عنصر الاثاره والتشويق بشكل كبير و كأن هذا متعمدا لينقل اليك الكاتب بروده و سخافه المكان والشخصيات التي جائت جميعها تقريبا تفتقر الي الحد الادني من الاخلاقيات
فذلك المكان الهادئ الذي كان يجري فيه اختفاء شخصيات علي درجه من الثراء في ظروف غامضه و تدور شكوك قائد الشرطه حول شله من الشباب العابث ظنا منه انها مؤامره ثوريه خبيثه لنزع الامن و الامان بدلا من ان يتقصي خط سير المختفين لينتهي في جميع الحالات عند نفس النقطه و هي بيت مشبوه في احد الازقه النائيه
جائت شخصيه قائد الشرطه صادمه و مثيره للشفقه الي حد كبير فقد جاء طول الوقت يتبع منهج ساذج في التفكير تؤدي به الي استنتاجات مغلوطه و كأن روحه و عقله قد اصابتهم الشيخوخه
مشهد وفاه والد رزق جاء مقزز الي حد لا يوصف
August 18, 2010
Do the arts express universal constants from culture to culture? This book, by the Egyptian Albert Cossery, answer in the affirmative: corruption, hypocrisy, political ideologies and erotic drives abound among the human community, in large cities and third-world backwaters. . . Cossery's black humor ranges from gentle jibes to bleak quotidian tragedies, and Aylson Waters's translation conveys the tale in a seamless, natural-sounding narrative.
December 2, 2018
الرواية الأولي التي أقرأها لألبير قصيري وهو كاتب مصري يكتب بالفرنسية وهو شخصية غير إعتيادية ويقول عن نفسه أنه لم ير أحد من أفراد عائلتة يعمل وكانوا يعيشون علي عائدات الأراضي .
رواية جيدة عن شاب يرسلة أبوه للدراسة ويعود دون الحصول علي الشهادة ويظل هو واصدقائة في فراغ تام لمجرد الأستمتاع بالوقت وهو ما يبدو قريبا لشخصية البير .
رواية جيدة عن شاب يرسلة أبوه للدراسة ويعود دون الحصول علي الشهادة ويظل هو واصدقائة في فراغ تام لمجرد الأستمتاع بالوقت وهو ما يبدو قريبا لشخصية البير .
May 18, 2019
من أروع ما يمكن قراءته.. ألبير قصيري يأخذك إلى عالمه بسهولة شديدة ويتركك في عالمه الروائي وانت مستمتع بالعابه وبالسخرية من السلطة بكل تنوعياتها
June 9, 2023
What a charming little novel full of beautiful descriptions and metaphors. It’s perhaps a product of the french translation that results in such rich descriptions. I appreciate the inability to distinguish the time, or the exact city where the book is set. Although for me at least, it conjured a city on the Nile in the 60s….Perhaps Damieta.
The original french title uses the word Saltimbaque, which has no literal translation but loosely means street performer/ artist - this is exactly what Teymour, Imtaz, Medhat are. A group of artists creating a story from their city and enjoying the luxuriousness of trying to achieve nothing of substance at all…although disconcertingly they do seem to spend a little too much time trying to sleep with underage girls.
The original french title uses the word Saltimbaque, which has no literal translation but loosely means street performer/ artist - this is exactly what Teymour, Imtaz, Medhat are. A group of artists creating a story from their city and enjoying the luxuriousness of trying to achieve nothing of substance at all…although disconcertingly they do seem to spend a little too much time trying to sleep with underage girls.
February 2, 2025
An exhilarating read.
Cossery’s novel is funny and insightful much the ways Genet’s Thief Journal was.
It teaches subtle lessons about human nature but, hoping to avoid being overly didactic, it uses surreal scenarios and outlandish characters in order to distract its readers from the deeply considered and wonderfully complex moral lessons it subtly imparts. This is a rugged critique of capitalism and the modern drive to be “productive”, both in regard to work and one’s role in society. Think Alexandre Le Bienheureux
It also reminds us what it’s like when we actively choose to see wonder in our home towns.
I found myself underlining and highlighting passages consistently. Quotations to follow when time permits.
Cossery’s novel is funny and insightful much the ways Genet’s Thief Journal was.
It teaches subtle lessons about human nature but, hoping to avoid being overly didactic, it uses surreal scenarios and outlandish characters in order to distract its readers from the deeply considered and wonderfully complex moral lessons it subtly imparts. This is a rugged critique of capitalism and the modern drive to be “productive”, both in regard to work and one’s role in society. Think Alexandre Le Bienheureux
It also reminds us what it’s like when we actively choose to see wonder in our home towns.
I found myself underlining and highlighting passages consistently. Quotations to follow when time permits.
April 3, 2017
A Splendid Conspiracy, originally written in 1975 as Un Complot de Saltimbanques, opens with Teymour, a young man whose wealthy father has recently called him back from Europe to their small, unnamed Egyptian city. Although Teymour had been sent abroad to obtain a degree in chemical engineering, he never actually enrolled in any classes and spent the entire six years learning about the various forms of debauchery found in the great Western capitals. His "diploma" was purchased for a large sum of cash several days before his departure.
Luckily, Teymour's self-pitying funk doesn't last for long. His childhood buddy Medhat reminds him that every country has its share of "imbecils, bastards, and whores" ready to make life fun and amusing. Their mutual friend Imtaz, a disgraced actor, heartily agrees with this, and A Splendid Conspiracy is for the most part concerned with the trio's neverending drinking, dancing, and womanizing. Their crowd also includes Rezk the reluctant police informant; Chawki, a buffoon with too much money and a taste for schoolgirls; Salma, one of Chawki's former conquests who earns her revenge through his maintenance of her lavish lifestyle; and Samaraï, a lovestruck veterinary student whom the man-hating Salma enjoys tormenting. Just when things couldn't be more exciting, the town's prominent men have been disappearing and police chief Hillali thinks Teymour, Medhat, and Imtaz are the revolutionaries responsible.
It appears to be a simple enough story on the surface. Cossery's prose, though hardly minimalist, is straightforward and unadorned and rarely goes beyond candid narration. But, as Medhat explains, there are always "great gifts of madness and murderous rage" seething beneath every humdrum surface. A Splendid Conspiracy may seem like a carefree romp. But Cossery's irony is rich, beginning with the recurring image of a patriotic statue with her hand outstretched before the impassive city. It is a futile gesture. In a tale of idleness, "The Awakening of the Nation" is two-faced and ridiculous, the perfect symbol of what our trio perceives to be history's greatest con. According to Medhat (the most articulate of the bunch), "From the beginning man's hardworking fate has made him unable to conceive of an ideal that is not material and does not correspond to his needs and his safety. . . When, then, does he have time to elevate his spirit and his mind? The tiniest thought along these lines is considered a criminal offense, immediately punishable by disapproval and starvation. Therefore, I venture to affirm that only people of leisure can attain a way of thinking that is truly civilized."
Such an attitude is profoundly elitist, of course, as Medhat & Co. make it clear that they care nothing for those lacking class privilege except to sleep with their women. Their "enlightened" position is made possible by a good dose of male privilege as well, and both advantages are innately bound to the oppression of others. Hence, the gang's laziness and debauchery is dependent on other people being denied the opportunity for laziness and debauchery. (As for Salma, the culture considers her a "dishonored woman." Although she enjoys playing this up for effect, she is still a social outcast dependent on the good graces of the man who ruined her.) Given the obvious similarities between author and characters, it is easy to dismiss A Splendid Conspiracy as a sexist, elitist ode to the libertine. A valid criticism - in some respects, it is: Salma is a shrill harpy and adolescent girls are naught but sex objects.
For all its blithe carousing, however, the "civilized life" is founded on a kind of nihilism that finds its starkest expression in the mystery of the missing men. Police chief Hillali's suspicion of violent, treacherous action comes from precisely our trio's seeming inaction. It is impossible to remain idle for this long, he argues, especially when you are educated, because with all that time to reflect you can't possibly have not noticed that "this world is abject and revolting." A sentiment Medhat, Imtaz, and Teymour actually agree with, but that doesn't mean they wish to change anything about such a world. They are apathetic in every sense of the word. If most actions that fall outside the realm of pleasure are stupid and ignoble, then it goes to follow that performing said actions only contributes to an overall slave mentality. Therefore, most such ambitious bastards are too stupid too live and our heroes will most certainly not lift a finger once they learn (accidentally) the true cause of the disappearances. Even if one of their friends becomes a victim. The more that go, the merrier.
I agree with another reviewer that all the characters are basically repulsive. But take comfort: Chawki, the bloated, vulgar doofus at the butt of the gang's jokes and despised by respectable society, is, in Albert Cossery's ultimate blast of irony, the very vision of Teymour, Medhat, and Imtaz's sordid future. They've already got all the ingredients. Joke's on them and their "enlightenment." Again, if someone were to condemn A Splendid Conspiracy as mere exploitation and misogyny, I would totally understand and actually agree to an extent. Still, I also found it surprisingly self-aware and self-critical and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Am very interested in hearing what other people think.
Review Copy
Original Review
Luckily, Teymour's self-pitying funk doesn't last for long. His childhood buddy Medhat reminds him that every country has its share of "imbecils, bastards, and whores" ready to make life fun and amusing. Their mutual friend Imtaz, a disgraced actor, heartily agrees with this, and A Splendid Conspiracy is for the most part concerned with the trio's neverending drinking, dancing, and womanizing. Their crowd also includes Rezk the reluctant police informant; Chawki, a buffoon with too much money and a taste for schoolgirls; Salma, one of Chawki's former conquests who earns her revenge through his maintenance of her lavish lifestyle; and Samaraï, a lovestruck veterinary student whom the man-hating Salma enjoys tormenting. Just when things couldn't be more exciting, the town's prominent men have been disappearing and police chief Hillali thinks Teymour, Medhat, and Imtaz are the revolutionaries responsible.
It appears to be a simple enough story on the surface. Cossery's prose, though hardly minimalist, is straightforward and unadorned and rarely goes beyond candid narration. But, as Medhat explains, there are always "great gifts of madness and murderous rage" seething beneath every humdrum surface. A Splendid Conspiracy may seem like a carefree romp. But Cossery's irony is rich, beginning with the recurring image of a patriotic statue with her hand outstretched before the impassive city. It is a futile gesture. In a tale of idleness, "The Awakening of the Nation" is two-faced and ridiculous, the perfect symbol of what our trio perceives to be history's greatest con. According to Medhat (the most articulate of the bunch), "From the beginning man's hardworking fate has made him unable to conceive of an ideal that is not material and does not correspond to his needs and his safety. . . When, then, does he have time to elevate his spirit and his mind? The tiniest thought along these lines is considered a criminal offense, immediately punishable by disapproval and starvation. Therefore, I venture to affirm that only people of leisure can attain a way of thinking that is truly civilized."
Such an attitude is profoundly elitist, of course, as Medhat & Co. make it clear that they care nothing for those lacking class privilege except to sleep with their women. Their "enlightened" position is made possible by a good dose of male privilege as well, and both advantages are innately bound to the oppression of others. Hence, the gang's laziness and debauchery is dependent on other people being denied the opportunity for laziness and debauchery. (As for Salma, the culture considers her a "dishonored woman." Although she enjoys playing this up for effect, she is still a social outcast dependent on the good graces of the man who ruined her.) Given the obvious similarities between author and characters, it is easy to dismiss A Splendid Conspiracy as a sexist, elitist ode to the libertine. A valid criticism - in some respects, it is: Salma is a shrill harpy and adolescent girls are naught but sex objects.
For all its blithe carousing, however, the "civilized life" is founded on a kind of nihilism that finds its starkest expression in the mystery of the missing men. Police chief Hillali's suspicion of violent, treacherous action comes from precisely our trio's seeming inaction. It is impossible to remain idle for this long, he argues, especially when you are educated, because with all that time to reflect you can't possibly have not noticed that "this world is abject and revolting." A sentiment Medhat, Imtaz, and Teymour actually agree with, but that doesn't mean they wish to change anything about such a world. They are apathetic in every sense of the word. If most actions that fall outside the realm of pleasure are stupid and ignoble, then it goes to follow that performing said actions only contributes to an overall slave mentality. Therefore, most such ambitious bastards are too stupid too live and our heroes will most certainly not lift a finger once they learn (accidentally) the true cause of the disappearances. Even if one of their friends becomes a victim. The more that go, the merrier.
I agree with another reviewer that all the characters are basically repulsive. But take comfort: Chawki, the bloated, vulgar doofus at the butt of the gang's jokes and despised by respectable society, is, in Albert Cossery's ultimate blast of irony, the very vision of Teymour, Medhat, and Imtaz's sordid future. They've already got all the ingredients. Joke's on them and their "enlightenment." Again, if someone were to condemn A Splendid Conspiracy as mere exploitation and misogyny, I would totally understand and actually agree to an extent. Still, I also found it surprisingly self-aware and self-critical and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Am very interested in hearing what other people think.
Review Copy
Original Review
October 29, 2022
اللهو العبثي العدمي و السخرية من حياة البشر الرتيبة هى محور الرواية و سرد الأحداث من السهل الممتنع .الترجمة للعربية أفضل من ترجمات عربية قرأتها سابقا ( العنف و السخرية ، شحاتين و نبلاء) .
"تمكنت منهما فجأة ضحكة فجائية و انطلقا يجريان حول نفسيهما و يلاحقان بعضهما ، مشدوهين لحريتهما و كمن ثملا من وقع سرهما العجيب . بعدها بقليل ، فى ركن من الميدان ، صادفا فرقة من التلاميذ اللاعبين بالكرة و قد وجها اليهم شتيمة مقذعة لأنهم كانوا يستسلمون لهذة اللعبة الغبية ، التى نصبتها وساءل الاعلام الرسمية كأسمى نشاط اجتماعى و لمسئوليتها عن كبير من غباوة الشعب. "
"تمكنت منهما فجأة ضحكة فجائية و انطلقا يجريان حول نفسيهما و يلاحقان بعضهما ، مشدوهين لحريتهما و كمن ثملا من وقع سرهما العجيب . بعدها بقليل ، فى ركن من الميدان ، صادفا فرقة من التلاميذ اللاعبين بالكرة و قد وجها اليهم شتيمة مقذعة لأنهم كانوا يستسلمون لهذة اللعبة الغبية ، التى نصبتها وساءل الاعلام الرسمية كأسمى نشاط اجتماعى و لمسئوليتها عن كبير من غباوة الشعب. "
January 22, 2019
رواية مهمة جدا تتجلى فيها واقعية ألبير قصيري الفريدة
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