Radwa Ashour skillfully weaves a history of Granadan rule and an Arabic world into a novel that evokes cultural loss and the disappearance of a vanquished population. The novel follows the family of Abu Jaafar, the bookbinderdashhis wife, widowed daughter-in-law, her two children, and his two apprenticesdashas they witness Christopher Columbus and his entourage in a triumphant parade featuring exotic plants and animals and human captives from the New World. Embedded in the narrative is the preparation for the marriage of Saad, one of the apprentices, and Saleema, Abu Jaafar's granddaughterdasha scenario that is elegantly revealed in a number of parallel scenes.
As the new rulers of Granada confiscate books and officials burn the collected volumes, Abu Jaafur quietly moves his rich library out of town. Persecuted Muslims fight to form an independent government, but increasing economic and cultural pressures on the Arabs of Spain and Christian rulers culminate in Christian conversions and Muslim uprisings.
A tale that is both vigorous and heartbreaking, this novel will appeal to general readers of Spanish and Arabic literature as well as anyone interested in Christian-Muslim relations.
Reihe
Sprache
Verlagsort
Produkt-Hinweis
Fadenheftung
Gewebe-Einband
Maße
Höhe: 222 mm
Breite: 145 mm
Dicke: 18 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-8156-0765-6 (9780815607656)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Radwa Ashour is an Egyptian novelist, critic, and professor of English literature at Ain Shams University in Egypt. She has written several novels and short stories; the trilogy of which Granada forms the first part was named Best Book of the Year by the General Egyptian Book Organization in 1994.
