This book is my first foray into the body of Al-Koni's work, though I feel a pang of guilt that, as a Libyan, I read the translated English version rather than the original Arabic.
Libya is a large country, and oftentimes the inhabitants of different regions hardly know about each other. For most of those who live on the Northern coastal cities, Fezzan (the Southern province) is something of a mystery. We know that there's large expanses of desert and a slightly different culture, but there's no real interaction. With Al-Koni's works, we get a chance to experience a taste of life in Libya's deserts, and The Bleeding of the Stone offers a great look into the environment, the people and the challenges present there.
The novel presents the life and fate of Asouf the goat-herder. Unlike the other nomads of the desert, Asouf lives alone and understands better than most the mysteries of the desert, giving him an almost legendary status among the others. It's this status that gets him ensnared in the hands of poachers, who demand to know where Libya's famed waddan live. The background of all the characters are explored, leading to this final confrontation.
There's a lot of religious symbolism used, from Christianity and Islam to the more mystic African religions, which is a good reflection of the mixed cultural identity Libya has. I loved the beautiful descriptions of the wildlife and terrain of Southern Libya, although it's a bittersweet feeling to know that it won't be explored or developed as long as the conflict in the country continues. Of all the provinces in Libya, Fezzan probably suffers from the worst marginalization.
There's also an important message on the environmental dangers of poaching in Libya's south, a problem that organizations like the Libyan Wildlife Trust have stressed on due to the unregulated hunting that goes on there.
I feel like I might have robbed myself from further appreciation of the book by reading a translated version, perhaps the original will be more fascinating.