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Les Jardins de Basra
Hishâm est marchand de livres anciens au Caire. Jeune homme solitaire et fragile, il est habité par des manuscrits et des personnages d’autres temps. À la poursuite de l’interprétation de l’un de ses rêves récurrents, dans lequel il voit des anges venus du ciel cueillir le jasmin de la ville irakienne de Basra, il finit par se convaincre qu’il y a vécu dans une vie antérieure, au VIIIe siècle, et qu’il y a fréquenté d’illustres théologiens. Ce roman d’une beauté lumineuse révèle le douloureux contraste entre la splendeur de la Basra d’hier et le destin funeste de la Basra contemporaine – où les bombes ont remplacé les anges.
203 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 4, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 6, 2025
I am honestly stunned by this book, I found it so beautiful. I wish I could read the original, especially the chapter without the letter r, as a tribute to Wasil. it's such a creative choice and even just the knowledge of it made it clear how much the author cares about the medieval Muslim theologians she writes about. and yeah, that's a little outside my area of knowledge but that really didn't deter me at all. every single word seems incredibly intentional, I was conscious of the fact that I was reading. there's something about it that keeps you at a distance, but (very oddly) I didn't mind that.
July 15, 2025
The Orchards of Basra: Mansoura Ez-Eldin, translated from the Arabic by Paul G. Starkey, was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2021. The narrative shifts between modern Egypt and ancient Iraq and uses multiple narrators.
The novel is in six sections. It opens with Hisham Khattab, an antique bookseller in Cairo. He is enamored of ancient manuscripts, collecting them and selling them for a living. He has a passion for Arabic poetry, theology, and philosophy, and thrives on the words of Islamic scholars some of whom lived over 1,000 years ago. He becomes an assistant to an ex-sheikh who has been demonized by the mainstream religious establishment for espousing Marxism. Hisham has a series of dream visions involving jasmine flowers. These dream visions convince him he lived a former life in 8th century Basra, Iraq, as a man named Yazid Ibn Abihi.
The second section takes us back to fragments in the life of Yazid Ibn Abihi, a basket and mat weaver. He, too, dreams of jasmine flowers and relies on Malik ibn ‘Udday, the copyist, to interpret his dreams. This section includes the various sheikhs Yazid follows and their debates on theological matters. The third section focuses on Layla, Hisham’s mother. Section four introduces us to “Bella” who has a relationship with Hisham. Section five takes us back to Basra and Malik ibn ‘Udday’s affair with Mujiba, Yazid Ibn Abihi’s wife. And with section six, we are back in Cairo with Hisham.
The construction is complicated and can get very confusing. Chapters within each section shift between characters, times, and locations. Threaded throughout the sections are episodes of violence that continue to haunt the perpetrators in the different time frames. Actual historical figures mingle with fictional characters. Hisham’s and Yazid’s lives are so tightly woven together, they become almost inseparable. At times, Hisham is convinced he is strolling along the roads of 8th century Iraq. Such shifts can be jarring for the reader.
Through Hisham/Yazid, Ez-Eldin explores themes and debates in Islamic philosophy, with a special focus on the Mu’tazila school of thought. For those not versed in Islamic debates of over 1,000 years ago, she includes a list at the end of the novel of the historical figures and a brief summary of their positions. This is somewhat helpful but the name-dropping of various religious scholars, their exchanges and theological debates, is bewildering to someone without a rudimentary knowledge of the issues. They bog down the narrative.
The labyrinthine structure serves as a platform for Ez-Eldin to explore questions raised by Muslim scholars for over 1,000 years. The major debate seems to be about whether a Muslim who has committed a sin can still be considered a Muslim. Questions emerge about guilt, sin, morality, predestination, free will, reason, the impact of one’s choices, and justice. The possible intent of this complex novel is to invite the reader to reflect on these thorny issues. Success in accomplishing this goal depends on some prior knowledge of the debate and its major players.
My book reviews are also available at www.tamaraaghajaffar.com
The novel is in six sections. It opens with Hisham Khattab, an antique bookseller in Cairo. He is enamored of ancient manuscripts, collecting them and selling them for a living. He has a passion for Arabic poetry, theology, and philosophy, and thrives on the words of Islamic scholars some of whom lived over 1,000 years ago. He becomes an assistant to an ex-sheikh who has been demonized by the mainstream religious establishment for espousing Marxism. Hisham has a series of dream visions involving jasmine flowers. These dream visions convince him he lived a former life in 8th century Basra, Iraq, as a man named Yazid Ibn Abihi.
The second section takes us back to fragments in the life of Yazid Ibn Abihi, a basket and mat weaver. He, too, dreams of jasmine flowers and relies on Malik ibn ‘Udday, the copyist, to interpret his dreams. This section includes the various sheikhs Yazid follows and their debates on theological matters. The third section focuses on Layla, Hisham’s mother. Section four introduces us to “Bella” who has a relationship with Hisham. Section five takes us back to Basra and Malik ibn ‘Udday’s affair with Mujiba, Yazid Ibn Abihi’s wife. And with section six, we are back in Cairo with Hisham.
The construction is complicated and can get very confusing. Chapters within each section shift between characters, times, and locations. Threaded throughout the sections are episodes of violence that continue to haunt the perpetrators in the different time frames. Actual historical figures mingle with fictional characters. Hisham’s and Yazid’s lives are so tightly woven together, they become almost inseparable. At times, Hisham is convinced he is strolling along the roads of 8th century Iraq. Such shifts can be jarring for the reader.
Through Hisham/Yazid, Ez-Eldin explores themes and debates in Islamic philosophy, with a special focus on the Mu’tazila school of thought. For those not versed in Islamic debates of over 1,000 years ago, she includes a list at the end of the novel of the historical figures and a brief summary of their positions. This is somewhat helpful but the name-dropping of various religious scholars, their exchanges and theological debates, is bewildering to someone without a rudimentary knowledge of the issues. They bog down the narrative.
The labyrinthine structure serves as a platform for Ez-Eldin to explore questions raised by Muslim scholars for over 1,000 years. The major debate seems to be about whether a Muslim who has committed a sin can still be considered a Muslim. Questions emerge about guilt, sin, morality, predestination, free will, reason, the impact of one’s choices, and justice. The possible intent of this complex novel is to invite the reader to reflect on these thorny issues. Success in accomplishing this goal depends on some prior knowledge of the debate and its major players.
My book reviews are also available at www.tamaraaghajaffar.com
June 28, 2023
Pas réussi à comprendre le message du livre...
October 18, 2025
Just didn’t get it
November 1, 2025
Really enjoyed this book. Found it was a smooth and easy read. You can kind of see parts of yourself in every character and I find that the author (Mansoura) has a unique way of illustrating the characters motivations, insecurities and weaknesses of character. I must say around half way through the book kind of took on a depressing tone that I was waiting to read myself out of but it never turned around. Would still recommend though!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews