رباعية الكيف: مائة جمل في الفناء

by Paul Bowles, بول بولز, عبد العزيز جدير (Translator)

استخدم الكاتب الأميركي بول بولز في قصصه الأربع من “رباعية الكيف” شخصيات مغربية، لم يدخل فيها أي شخصية غربية أو أميركية على عادة الكتاب الأجانب حين يكتبون قصصا عن بلد آخر، كما فعل مواطناه الأميركيان همنغواي وفيتزجيرالد، ربما لأنه “المواطن الطنجي” كما يلقبه المغاربة، وهو الذي عاش في طنجة 52 عاما.

اختار الكاتب الأميركي بول بولز المثل المغربي “غليون من الكيف قبل الفطور يمنح الإنسان قوة مئة جمل في الفناء”، كعتبة ساخرة أولى مهّدت لعالم الكيف الذي تناوله في مجموعته القصصية “رباعية الكيف” التي ترجمها إلى العربية عبدالعزيز جدير، وصدرت عن منشورات “ملتقى الطرق” بالدار البيضاء 2017.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Literature, Drugs

Paperback

First published April 1, 1962

About the author

Paul Frederic Bowles grew up in New York, and attended college at the University of Virginia before traveling to Paris, where became a part of Gertrude Stein's literary and artistic circle. Following her advice, he took his first trip to Tangiers in 1931 with his friend, composer Aaron Copeland.

In 1938 he married author and playwright Jane Auer (see: Jane Bowles). He moved to Tangiers permanently in 1947, with Auer following him there in 1948. There they became fixtures of the American and European expatriate scene, their visitors including Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and Gore Vidal. Bowles continued to live in Tangiers after the death of his wife in 1973.

Bowles died of heart failure in Tangier on November 18, 1999. His ashes were interred near the graves of his parents and grandparents in Lakemont, New York.

Reviews

[Edita · Rating 5 out of 5]

The eye wants to sleep, he says, but the head is no mattress.

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Τον Ιανουάριο του 2011 διάβασα για πρώτη φορά βιβλίο του Πολ Μπόουλς, και συγκεκριμένα το "Καλώς να πέσει". Έχουν περάσει πάνω από οχτώ χρόνια και έτσι δεν θυμάμαι γιατί του έβαλα τρία αστεράκια: Πιθανότατα γιατί σαν αναγνώστης ήμουν άγουρος ακόμα και το βιβλίο ήταν αρκετά διαφορετικό από αυτά που συνήθιζα να διαβάζω τότε (κάποια στιγμή σίγουρα θα το ξαναδιαβάσω). Λοιπόν, το "Εκατό καμήλες στην αυλή" είναι μια μικρή συλλογή τεσσάρων ιστοριών που διαδραματίζονται στο Μαρόκο, πρωταγωνιστές των οποίων είναι νεαροί Άραβες που αρέσκονται να διασκεδάζουν ή να χαλαρώνουν με τη χρήση του κιφ, δηλαδή της Μαροκινής φούντας. Όπως καταλαβαίνετε, ο βρώμικος ρεαλισμός και η σκληρή πραγματικότητα συνδυάζονται με τις παραισθήσεις και τις φαντασιώσεις. Η γραφή του Μπόουλς μπορεί να φανεί κάπως στεγνή, ίσως όχι τόσο ποιητική ή λυρική θα ήθελε ή θα περίμενε κανείς, όμως με τις ρεαλιστικές περιγραφές του καταφέρνει να μεταφέρει το κλίμα του τόπου και της εποχής. Επίσης είμαι σίγουρος ότι ο Μπόουλς θα κάπνισε κάμποσο κιφ στη ζωή του (τόσα χρόνια έζησε στο Μαρόκο), οπότε πιθανότατα έπιασε στην εντέλεια την όλη αίσθηση που δημιουργεί η χρήση του. Ας πούμε ότι το δεύτερο διήγημα, με τον τίτλο "Εκείνος από την Αγορά", μόνο με τη χρήση κιφ μπορεί να γίνει πλήρως αντιληπτό! Γενικά, πρόκειται για ένα πολύ ωραίο βιβλιαράκι, χαίρομαι πολύ που επανακυκλοφόρησε.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun mean streak of shitty behavior unites these stories whose ostensible purpose is the promulgation of kif. Yes, kif—no ‘e’ nor grinder to be found. Morocco has its own variant of weed and tobacco. Bowles was one of those quasi-mystics always in hunt for the Perfect Stoned Forever. I think this is his dissertation on the wonders of bending the mind via his beloved Moroccan narco/narcotic.

May your sebsi be full always, a witch’s help a step away, and may you never be forced to endure “Legalize It” on 11 in a backyard party drowning in dudes with Sublime tattoos.

Those guys know neither kif nor kindness.

[Didi Sot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Απλώς δεν ξέρω αν φταίει το βιβλίο ή εγώ ή η σχέση που αναπτύχθηκε ( ; ) ανάμεσα μας. Μπερδεύτηκα και δεν μπόρεσα να μπω στο κλίμα των ιστοριών. Κουράστηκα πολύ αν και είναι μικρό σε σελίδες το ανάγνωσμα. Ίσως θα έπρεπε να δώσω μια ευκαιρία σε κάτι άλλο - στο Τσάι στη Σαχάρα ίσως;- κάποια στιγμή αν και είναι εξαντλημένο.

[Corto Maltese · Rating 3 out of 5]

Σίγουρα όχι η Καλύτερη συλλογή διηγημάτων του, ο αντικειμενικός βαθμός είναι δύο αστέρια αλλά λόγω της προσωπικής αδυναμίας σε αυτόν τον τεράστιο συγγραφέα παίρνει τα τρία, ειδικότερα το τρίτο διηγήμα σχεδόν δεν βγάζει νόημα και αποτελεί τρανταχτό παράδειγμα το πως γράφεις εάν κάνεις χρήση ναρκωτικών ουσιών σε μεγάλες ποσότητες (εάν αυτός ήταν ο σκοπός του σίγουρα τον πέτυχε με το παραπάνω). Δεν πειράζει όμως, στα επόμενα και σίγουρα καλύτερα.

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tight collection of four stories that are border-line creepy with a great side of kif. Dope smokin' with a sinister edge. Bowles is a remarkable talent and i suspect a super interesting character.

[Chaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first reading of any of Paul Bowles work and I must say that I am both impressed and entertained. 100 camels in a courtyard is a collection of four short stories where Paul experiments with his writing. In the preface he presents eight or nine scenarios or events/quotes and from these events — selects a couple for each story and blends them into the narrative. All of these stories speak and breathe of the Moroccan landscape ——- culturally, politically and it’s topography. The central theme throughout the story is the importance of cannabis as a sort of magic elixir and how its replacement of alcohol changes the personalities of his characters. A very quick read — and one that I would suggest to any fan of short stories or other types of experimental fiction.

[Jasmine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Makes sure this is not the first Paul Bowles book you read...it is dry and completely cantered around kif, but not even in a good way...who knew weed could be so boring! Some of the stories are interesting, but half-heartedly written. It made me want to re-write it better, with more of a flair for actually story telling, not just talking while happening to tell a story.

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books I had been searching for for years. Paul Bowles is really the only person you want to travel with. He has an uncanny eye for detail, and an acute sense of atmosphere. He misses nothing, and catches every nuance. These are superb tales. He is the man you would most want to share a chillum with in the courtyard of the hundred camels!

[Kenneth]

Outstanding for the sleek light prose, reminiscent of Hemmingway in strength. Dealing with consciousness under the influence of Hashish, the stories blur reality and fantasy in the most convincing way I've ever read.

[LaMont Feske · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good book to read in the moment, if not for being dry and somewhat forgettable when complete.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

more

[Louis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mesmeric and alien collection of vignettes centred around the detached perspective of the kif smoker. Bowles clearly delights in the details of Moroccan life and spans a whole range of landscapes - from hunting hares in the barren mountains to the souks and cafes of Marrakech - picking up on cultural nuances and quirks in the different settings, which he combines to evoke a convincing, often eery atmosphere. The kif element gives a strange dreamlike quality that feels very experimental - the story He of the Assembly, for instance, is particularly weird (as Bowles euphemistically puts it in the preface, the story "has no factual anchors"). The result of the unfamiliar culture, the kif persective and the lack of logical introspection by the narrator is that the stories swerve unexpectedly, the characters difficult to anticipate or engage with; I think ultimately this limits the potential of the experiment, if not its artistic merit.

[Jaime Guerreiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compré el libro en la librería “Paper Hounds” de Vancouver, una librería con mucha magia en si misma, con estanterías y estanterías de libros de segunda mano y una muy buena colección de literatura beat. Compré el libro a ciegas, sin conocer a Bowles, tan solo atraído por la temática y la edición de “City Lights”.

El libro consta de cuatro historias, siendo la mejor bajo mi punto de vista la segunda, “He of the Assembly”. Las cuatro historias tienen como hilo conductor el “Kif”, un preparado de cannabis muy consumido en el norte de África, y con el que sus usuarios tienen revelaciones más o menos trascendentales. Los relatos tienen un aroma a “Las Mil y una Noches”, consiguen transportar al lector a las medinas y teterías compartiendo la ensoñación cannabinoide con sus protagonistas.

El libro tiene una magia indudable.

[KV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four loosely connected stories about smoking hash and things that happen while (or because of) smoking hash. Bowles' prose is typically infectious, and brings these happenings to life with a psychedelia not unlike what you'd get from smoking the stuff that connects everything together. A pretty easy read too, closer to Hemingway than his more traditional way of writing. It's these subtle experimentations that make it (and these stories) have the previously described psychedelic, and even sinister edge. Maybe not the best first Bowles book to be read because of the deviations from his usual style (this reads as much as him as it does Hemingway), but a great one nonetheless.

[Interzonatron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collection of 4 short stories written in the early 1960’s & set in Tangier, these stories include: A friend of the World (1961), He of the Assembly (1960), The Story of Lichen & Idir (1960), The Wind at Beni Midar (1962). My favorite of the 4 was “He of the Assembly” (1960), one of the most complex/confusing yet also seemingly sensible and articulate short stories I’ve ever read. A story of kif laden labyrinths into which the border between worlds dissolves, or is shown to have never existed. These stories are thoroughly saturated with kif, tea, black magic and djinn. Reader beware.

[Indran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skipped some pages in the middle as it got hard to understand. The first story was good, the last story was good.

[Pieter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Friend of the World ~ ★★★
He of the Assembly ~ ★★★
The Story of Lahcen and Idir ~ ★★★
The Wind at Beni Midar ~ ★★★★

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[laila* · Rating 2 out of 5]

i murder paul bowles in my mind

[Dylan Alford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different short stories about poor people that smoke weed and have adventures in the middle east in the fifties. Theres a part of one story where this guy has three days off so he piles up all this food and weed on his table and just stays inside smoking down, and this bird lands on the table. He puts his ring over the birds head and says, "A gold collar for the sultan of birds!" Then the bird flies away and he yells, "Son of a bitch!!" The stories are hilarious and entertaining, and easily relatable to stories you've heard from contemporary American people that smoke weed. Stoners try to outwit cops and alcoholics and whores...it's still that poetic style of Paul Bowles though...just lighter than usual.

[Donald Armfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason I had high hopes for this book. Maybe it was the title that caught my eye.

As for the content four short stories a little bit on the yawning side. The opening story "A Friend to the World" had a nice feel to it. The last "The Wind at Beni Midar" was interesting as well.

quote: "The eye wants to sleep, but the head is no matress. The earth trembles and the sky is afraid and two eyes are not brothers, and A pipe of kif before breakfast gives a man the strength of a hundred camels in the courtyard."

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kif smoke oozes from every page of this book, you'll certainly feel light-headed by the end! Despite that, and despite the rather unconventional method Paul Bowles employed during its composition, this does live up to the expectations aroused by the title. Witchcraft, cunning and of course kif, all play their part in these four tales set in the poorer communities of Morocco, which give the impression of being folk tales rather than the product of a Western novelist. Bowles had, however, spent many years living in Morocco, and no doubt absorbed the culture along with the kif smoke!

[Alex V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The eye wants to sleep but the head is no mattress."

A short sharp stoney dream, dizzying with smoke and whores and men selling the shoes they just got to acquire more smoke and whores. I kinda wanted to roll up this little book and smoke it when I finished it.

[Clint Banjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always beautifully written and precise by Paul Bowles taking you away to a time and place he knew so well with great respect and storytelling technique. Check the preface for a lesson in structure and research.

[Scott]

Trippy shit

[Betsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My neighbor recommended this book which is a great collection of short stories. The ending of each story is great.

[Jeff Russo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike Bowles's novels, this collection of stories doesn't feature any doomed Americans. Just a good, small, tight set of tales from another time and place.

[Sean Morrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fables of the stoned.

[Tim Weakley · Rating 3 out of 5]

My introduction to Bowles. I want more. Great ability to paint with words.