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The Garden of Allah
The book "" The Garden of Allah, has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies and hence the text is clear and readable.
- GenresFiction
492 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1904
About the author
Robert Smythe Hichens
246 books25 followersRobert Smythe Hichens was a satirist and critic, having studied at Clifton College, the Royal College of Music, and the London School of Journalism. He was a friend of Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas.
Also wrote as Robert S. Hichens and Robert Hichens
Also wrote as Robert S. Hichens and Robert Hichens
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 13 reviews
February 20, 2017
There's a classic movie based on this book staring Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper, which I've managed to persistently miss even though I'm a huge fan of both. So I looked everywhere for a synopsis of the movie and the book, and didn't find any that seemed very helpful; bought the book, and slogged through all 480 pages. Each sentence is well written and thoughtful, and the conceptual story is good, but after the first 75 pages, I gotta say, I found the book burdensome. The first 400 pages follow the emotional, religious, and philosophical journey of a world-weary woman through the desert. To clarify on the "emotional," she's responsive to each leaf, star, and grain of sand - hence the 400 pages. At some point, you really need significant happenings in in those 400 pages to maintain some interest.
With Hichens no Samuel Butler, it's emotionally exhausting to weed through all her...emotions. So I took periodic breaks from this book and finished six other books in between going back to the purgatory of Garden of Allah. I knew there was a point to the story, but I felt like it took forever to get there.
In the last 80 pages, it was a relief to finally get some true action out of the protagonists: we discover why the male tourist that she had been reacting to during her journey is so tormented (the one that the natives had been obliquely warning her against), and what she determines must be done. After the action is taken, we get one page, telling the story eight years later, and we're all through. I can easily see how this book could be condensed into movie form. I'm glad I know the story, but I wouldn't repeat this investment.
With Hichens no Samuel Butler, it's emotionally exhausting to weed through all her...emotions. So I took periodic breaks from this book and finished six other books in between going back to the purgatory of Garden of Allah. I knew there was a point to the story, but I felt like it took forever to get there.
In the last 80 pages, it was a relief to finally get some true action out of the protagonists: we discover why the male tourist that she had been reacting to during her journey is so tormented (the one that the natives had been obliquely warning her against), and what she determines must be done. After the action is taken, we get one page, telling the story eight years later, and we're all through. I can easily see how this book could be condensed into movie form. I'm glad I know the story, but I wouldn't repeat this investment.
May 4, 2018
High-minded romance which started well but eventually became bogged down in the sand.
After Domini Enfilden's mother had ran away with another man, her Catholic father turned increasingly bitter and died an atheist. A brave young woman with a spiritual void, she goes alone to Africa 'the journey of the searcher who knew not what she sought.'
She meets Boris Androvsky, an awkward man obviously suffering from a painful secret, one which I guessed correctly pretty early on.
The Garden of Allah is the name the Arabs give to the desert. Domini is called to it, Boris comes to personify it for her and so she is drawn to him, despite how awkward and mysterious he is. She receives various warnings about him from a nobleman, a priest and a sand-diviner.
All good writers enjoy waxing lyrical about the desert and Hichens luxuriates over the enervating sun, the endless desert sands, the shimmering salt crystals, the tanned, naked limbs of the Arabs, their soft, brown gazelle-like eyes, the belly dancers, the melancholic strains of the hautboy suggestive of 'the cry of longing, the wail of the unknown that draws some men and women to splendid follies and to ardent pilgrimages whose goal is the mirage.'
The atmosphere and promise of something richly tragic kept me interested over the first half of the book, but I kept thinking that the story had something more to offer than it eventually did. Boris was never the most interesting character and grew a little wearisome as the pages mounted up, the impact of his secret had been lost in the dunes long before it was finally revealed.
The second half was a tiresome trudge through pages and pages of fleeting impressions from a mind moving from captivity to freedom, coming to understand the difference between faith and love, considering the Christian idea of free will in contrast to Islamic fatalism.
Interesting themes stretched beyond the point of interest by characters far too precious in their self-absorption.
After Domini Enfilden's mother had ran away with another man, her Catholic father turned increasingly bitter and died an atheist. A brave young woman with a spiritual void, she goes alone to Africa 'the journey of the searcher who knew not what she sought.'
She meets Boris Androvsky, an awkward man obviously suffering from a painful secret, one which I guessed correctly pretty early on.
The Garden of Allah is the name the Arabs give to the desert. Domini is called to it, Boris comes to personify it for her and so she is drawn to him, despite how awkward and mysterious he is. She receives various warnings about him from a nobleman, a priest and a sand-diviner.
All good writers enjoy waxing lyrical about the desert and Hichens luxuriates over the enervating sun, the endless desert sands, the shimmering salt crystals, the tanned, naked limbs of the Arabs, their soft, brown gazelle-like eyes, the belly dancers, the melancholic strains of the hautboy suggestive of 'the cry of longing, the wail of the unknown that draws some men and women to splendid follies and to ardent pilgrimages whose goal is the mirage.'
The atmosphere and promise of something richly tragic kept me interested over the first half of the book, but I kept thinking that the story had something more to offer than it eventually did. Boris was never the most interesting character and grew a little wearisome as the pages mounted up, the impact of his secret had been lost in the dunes long before it was finally revealed.
The second half was a tiresome trudge through pages and pages of fleeting impressions from a mind moving from captivity to freedom, coming to understand the difference between faith and love, considering the Christian idea of free will in contrast to Islamic fatalism.
Interesting themes stretched beyond the point of interest by characters far too precious in their self-absorption.
February 19, 2021
A woman from London goes to the pastoral lands of Africa where she meets a Count, a priest, and a mystery man. This is a bit of a lumbering slog as she ponders at length. It eventually turns into a love story. Too long.
October 14, 2022
🔻 Genre: Fiction in the desert.
✔️Published in 1904.
👁 Point of view: Third person.
🖊 My review: This is a fictional story of a woman travelling the desert. Although the story is a bit burdensome to read and repetitious, I enjoyed the story, nonetheless. It is one thing to watch the 1936 movie (which is somewhat bland), and another thing to get the full, rich story by reading The Garden of Allah in its original novel form.
🔥 Dénouement: A bit dramatic.
🔲 Excerpts :
🖋 The writing style: Robert Smythe Hichens' writing style is flowing, rich in descriptions, and focused on the settings. Though his writing style also encompasses long, long sentences, their structure is appropriate to the feel of the desert, the undulating sands, the heat, and the passion of the various characters.
🗝 What I learned: There were three movies made from this novel (as of this review).
💫 What I like best: The desert setting.
📌 Would I read this again? Maybe.
🤔 My rating 🌟🌟🌟
◼️ Fun fact: Upon further research, there are two other movie versions besides the 1936 one: The first, a silent movie, was made in 1916. A sound version was made in 1927.
🟣 Media form: Kindle version.
🎥Movie version: 1936.
✔️Published in 1904.
👁 Point of view: Third person.
🖊 My review: This is a fictional story of a woman travelling the desert. Although the story is a bit burdensome to read and repetitious, I enjoyed the story, nonetheless. It is one thing to watch the 1936 movie (which is somewhat bland), and another thing to get the full, rich story by reading The Garden of Allah in its original novel form.
🔥 Dénouement: A bit dramatic.
🔲 Excerpts :
🔸 Every palm beside a well, every stunted vine and clambering flower upon an auberge wall, every form of hill and silhouette of shadow, became in her heart intense with the beauty and the pathos she used, as a child, to think must lie beyond the sunset.
🔸 Suddenly two Arabs, in dirty white burnouses and turbans bound with cords of camel's hair, came running along the wharf.
🖋 The writing style: Robert Smythe Hichens' writing style is flowing, rich in descriptions, and focused on the settings. Though his writing style also encompasses long, long sentences, their structure is appropriate to the feel of the desert, the undulating sands, the heat, and the passion of the various characters.
🗝 What I learned: There were three movies made from this novel (as of this review).
💫 What I like best: The desert setting.
📌 Would I read this again? Maybe.
🤔 My rating 🌟🌟🌟
◼️ Fun fact: Upon further research, there are two other movie versions besides the 1936 one: The first, a silent movie, was made in 1916. A sound version was made in 1927.
🟣 Media form: Kindle version.
🎥Movie version: 1936.
March 11, 2015
Rich chick Domini eats prays loves her way through the Sahara on a spiritual journey to find herself. I got as far as I did in the book by skimming chunks of text. It's just so skimmable. I suppose I could have finished it eventually but I've got other books to read.
April 21, 2012
One of the most repetitive books I've ever read.
November 19, 2017
This book is a headache.
Read
August 23, 2017Oh god this was awful ... insipid and boring.
June 9, 2019
Deeply, deeply weird.
April 15, 2022
Terrible, truly terrible. Overwritten travelogue with an unconvincing love story tacked on.
April 10, 2025
Grandma's Book -In my library
March 26, 2007
Search for self can go in many directions.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 13 reviews