Monday 23 June 2014
The Thief and the Dog - Naguib Mahfouz
A shorter late novel by Mahfouz. Interesting to compare him to Al Aswany. Mahfouz is more a feuilleton style, a social portrayal, not a social critique - at least in this book. Mahfouz explores the lives of the underdogs and the poor of society but there are none of the nasty, evil characters of Aswany. The drama in Mahfouz is more melodrama - betrayal, unrequited love, greed. No deeper social critique, but a portrayal. a reflection of Everyman, or at least Everyman's somewhat romanticized view of himself.
Chicago - Alaa Al Aswany
The most recent book by this brilliant Egyptian author/dentist.
Another biting look at a cast of mostly Egyptian characters - sycophantic religious, pious Islamic, exploitative males, government cronies, western worshippers, naive revolutionary and idealists, and more.
This time, though, as the book is set in Chicago, he also gets to look at people who have turned against their own culture, characters who have tried to assimilate american values but hit a breaking point. In addition he also turns his gaze on some american characters - 60s leftist profs., academics who live and value only their area of expertise, naive westerners in search of the exotic ( also a theme in Season of Migration to the North).
This book is a big step for Aswany - his comments on human nature and on culture go beyond Egyptian society to become more universal. A kind of Decameron approach, where the caricatures and satire intersect with a bigger tradition of this genre.
Another biting look at a cast of mostly Egyptian characters - sycophantic religious, pious Islamic, exploitative males, government cronies, western worshippers, naive revolutionary and idealists, and more.
This time, though, as the book is set in Chicago, he also gets to look at people who have turned against their own culture, characters who have tried to assimilate american values but hit a breaking point. In addition he also turns his gaze on some american characters - 60s leftist profs., academics who live and value only their area of expertise, naive westerners in search of the exotic ( also a theme in Season of Migration to the North).
This book is a big step for Aswany - his comments on human nature and on culture go beyond Egyptian society to become more universal. A kind of Decameron approach, where the caricatures and satire intersect with a bigger tradition of this genre.
Friendly Fire - Alaa Al Aswany
Another book by the author who wrote the great novel, The Yacoubian Building.
This is a collection of short stories.
Al Aswany is a brilliant observer and critic of Egyptian society and politics. Some of the stories are sad, some are bitingly sarcastic and sharp.
He is an interesting observer of social mores of the Middle East - he captures some of the essential differences in social outlook, social patterns and relations. He also has a sharp eye for the power relations of the society and the role of hierarchy, and how it is exploited by those at the top. An interesting read if you have spent much time with people from the middle east - it gives you a sense of what kind of social landscape they have to navigate to accomplish things and be happy.
An interesting glimpse of a society whose asabiya is low (see War and Peace and War entry)
This is a collection of short stories.
Al Aswany is a brilliant observer and critic of Egyptian society and politics. Some of the stories are sad, some are bitingly sarcastic and sharp.
He is an interesting observer of social mores of the Middle East - he captures some of the essential differences in social outlook, social patterns and relations. He also has a sharp eye for the power relations of the society and the role of hierarchy, and how it is exploited by those at the top. An interesting read if you have spent much time with people from the middle east - it gives you a sense of what kind of social landscape they have to navigate to accomplish things and be happy.
An interesting glimpse of a society whose asabiya is low (see War and Peace and War entry)
Season of Migration to the North - Tayeb Salih
A great novel about emigration and return. Also about colonialism and its complex threads. It is a classic novel expressing a classic idea, but with such power and mastery of style. It is in the tradition of European literature with big themes and big symbols. A real achievement for Salih as writer from a different culture and tradition. His manipulation of the symbolic language of western literature reminds me of Joseph Conrad, who was European, but who wrote similar rich novels in a language that was not his mother tongue.
The novel is an exploration of the tragedy of those émigrés who remain trapped between two cultures, never quite belonging in their new home, but also unable to return and be satisfied in their home.
Masterful use of the symbolism of the river with most of the story unfolding on the banks of the Nile.
A classic.
The novel is an exploration of the tragedy of those émigrés who remain trapped between two cultures, never quite belonging in their new home, but also unable to return and be satisfied in their home.
Masterful use of the symbolism of the river with most of the story unfolding on the banks of the Nile.
A classic.
War Peace and War: The Rise and Fall of Empires - Peter Turchin
Fascinating new perspective on cycles in history.
He looks at long cycles in history from several points of view which overlap.
His first idea is that empires and dominant civilizations arise at points where two distinct cultural and social groups meet. This clash of groups heightens intragroup identity and creates a one for all, all for one survival mentality. This is how a smaller cultural group can coalesce and in the end defeat a much larger rival culture with a weaker intragroup identity. He calls this intragroup dynamic the group's "asabiya". As examples of this phenomenon he examines in detail the Roman Empire, looks at the Cossack expansion east and south, and also examines the rise of the Carolingian Empire in Medieval Europe. Convincingly argued. A dominant civilization's cycle can last for 1000 years even, with some up and down cycles along the way.
The next cycle he looks at he refers to as a secular cycle (there is a recent book with this title). This is essentially an economic cycle but with cumulative social consequences. It is a cycle where economic inequality increases over time due to various social and political processes that seem to be hard to regulate. At the same time, there is a disproportionate growth of numbers in the elite of society. In the end there is a shortage of resources for everyone - the bottom end of society has limited economic resources; the elites have little opportunity for advancement and limited access to political power. This leads to a weakening of group asabiya, a breakdown in social cooperation, increased conflict and finally revolution, civil war or some such catastrophe. This phase continues until everyone is thoroughly sick of it. War and subsequent disease, disorder and famine, eventually reduce the number of elites and the number of people in general, and there is a return to cooperation and a more equitable distribution of wealth simply because there is now a higher proportion of opportunities and resources available to everyone.
This secular cycle however, eventually weakens the group asabiya to the point where it can no longer be rebuilt and the civilization crumbles, fades, in subsumed by another new stronger group.
He also has an interesting section on southern Italy and how lost its asabiya centuries ago due to repeated conquering by foreign rulers. It is essentially a look at how it can be next to impossible to rebuild asabiya, trust, a civil society once it is gone.
This book provides and interesting perspective on current social and political events around the world. It offers a very long view framework into which these short-term events and trends can be placed. For me, it provides some intriguing points from which to think about what is going on economically and politically in our own western societies and in other societies around the world.
Worth owning for occasional dipping and refreshing.
He looks at long cycles in history from several points of view which overlap.
His first idea is that empires and dominant civilizations arise at points where two distinct cultural and social groups meet. This clash of groups heightens intragroup identity and creates a one for all, all for one survival mentality. This is how a smaller cultural group can coalesce and in the end defeat a much larger rival culture with a weaker intragroup identity. He calls this intragroup dynamic the group's "asabiya". As examples of this phenomenon he examines in detail the Roman Empire, looks at the Cossack expansion east and south, and also examines the rise of the Carolingian Empire in Medieval Europe. Convincingly argued. A dominant civilization's cycle can last for 1000 years even, with some up and down cycles along the way.
The next cycle he looks at he refers to as a secular cycle (there is a recent book with this title). This is essentially an economic cycle but with cumulative social consequences. It is a cycle where economic inequality increases over time due to various social and political processes that seem to be hard to regulate. At the same time, there is a disproportionate growth of numbers in the elite of society. In the end there is a shortage of resources for everyone - the bottom end of society has limited economic resources; the elites have little opportunity for advancement and limited access to political power. This leads to a weakening of group asabiya, a breakdown in social cooperation, increased conflict and finally revolution, civil war or some such catastrophe. This phase continues until everyone is thoroughly sick of it. War and subsequent disease, disorder and famine, eventually reduce the number of elites and the number of people in general, and there is a return to cooperation and a more equitable distribution of wealth simply because there is now a higher proportion of opportunities and resources available to everyone.
This secular cycle however, eventually weakens the group asabiya to the point where it can no longer be rebuilt and the civilization crumbles, fades, in subsumed by another new stronger group.
He also has an interesting section on southern Italy and how lost its asabiya centuries ago due to repeated conquering by foreign rulers. It is essentially a look at how it can be next to impossible to rebuild asabiya, trust, a civil society once it is gone.
This book provides and interesting perspective on current social and political events around the world. It offers a very long view framework into which these short-term events and trends can be placed. For me, it provides some intriguing points from which to think about what is going on economically and politically in our own western societies and in other societies around the world.
Worth owning for occasional dipping and refreshing.
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