Book Reviews

NASHER’S Review of “Le Faucon”

Author: Gilbert Sinoué

Pages: 280 pages

Publishing house: Al-Kamel Verlag

The figure of the UAE’s founder, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul in peace, has always been inspiring for many writers, poets and authors, from within and outside the Arab world. Hundreds of books focusing on different aspects of his biography were released, recording his glorious deeds, values ​​and principles, including his love for people, his concern for the child and the family, his pursuit of unity and the development of his community, even his wisdom, vision, confidence in his people and his belief in the future of his homeland.

Yet, the Egyptian-born French writer, Gilbert Sinoué, had the lead in producing the first literary work of fiction to deal with the biography of Sheikh Zayed, may God rest his soul, through his book “Le Faucon”, which was published in mid-2020 in French by “Gallimard”, the leading French publishing house. Recently, Al-Kamel Verlag in Beirut and Baghdad released its Arabic edition, translated by Saleh Al-Ashmar, the well-known Lebanese writer and translator.

The book celebrates the personality of Sheikh Zayed the son, father, brother, ruler and poet, by shedding light on many situations, highlighting his presence in the lives of many international personalities, including the British traveler Wilfred Thesiger, the Egyptian-born engineer Abdel Rahman Makhlouf, and the British writer Susan Hilliard.

The “Le Faucon“ novel sheds light on the most prominent milestones and figures in the history of the UAE, before its establishment, and deals with Sheikh Zayed’s relationship with each of them, especially his brother Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the 11^th ruler of Abu Dhabi from 1928 to 1966. It also highlights the most prominent development projects in Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain, as well as Sheikh Zayed’s travels to Britain, Pakistan, and India. The book also deals with the emergence of the UAE, and the subsequent events and challenges that the late managed to overcome all with his visionary wisdom, to place his country in the ranks of the most stable, progressive and prosperous countries in the world.

Nasher’s Review of “Over The Republican Bridge”

Author: Shahad Al Rawi

Publishing house: Dar Al Hikma, London

The young Iraqi author, Shahad Al Rawi returns with her second book ‘Over The Republican Bridge’ and after the success that her debut novel ‘The Baghdad Clock’ achieved, many readers were wondering what will Al Rawi next book be about and how different it will be.

In ‘Over The Republican Bridge’ the reader is invited to witness how the 2003 American invasion of Iraq and prior events impacts not just one generation but three; the grandparents, the parents, and children, and how one location, or rather the Republican Bridge is the place that plays a major part in one family over the decades. The novel begins with the bridge and ends with it, and just as it represents hope and change, it is also a source of danger and despair. Thinking about the bridge and its symbolic meaning within the novel, one comes to the realisation that just as ‘bridges’ are the way we cross over the river from onside to another without much thought to what awaits us, the bridge in Al Rawi’s novel is the deciding factor in every character’s fate, it is the deciding factor between new and old, life and death.

It is on the Republic Bridge that the protagonist recalls how the American Tanks were crossing into the heart of Baghdad, signaling the end of Iraq that everyone knew and the start of the unknown journey that many people had to take. Like most people in Iraq, the protagonist and her family leave Iraq into an unknown neighbouring country where they aim to start a new life, only to lose their mother to a deadly illness less than a month later. It is then that the reader is again struck by the use of symbolism, whether it is intended or not, the loss of the mother figure is the loss of one’s home country, loss of security, and the loss of belonging. This is demonstrated through the novel’s nameless protagonist, who throughout the book has no clear sense of belonging, not with her sister, father, cousin, or friends. Even when she tries to fall in love, it is a half-hearted attempt, which confirms the point that she has no sense of belonging and by finding a romantic interest, she assumed that will be her focal point after all don’t we all need something or someone that we call home?

In ‘Over The Republic Bridge’ the theme of escapement and longing for the past are evident at every stage of the novel, even before the family’s departure of Iraq there is a sense of longing to the past by the mother when she talks about her school, and it is clear that people often look back to the past with a romanticised view yet in our protagonist case, even the good times are marred with sorrow such as the death of her uncle during the first war that Iraq endured in the 80s.

If you have been following the work of Al Rawi, you would have noticed that there is a sense of maturity in ‘Over The Republic Bridge’ in her writing in the way that the characters are all given space to form a bond with the readers, they are all multi-dimensional with flaws and attractive qualities; essentially they are humanised by their contradictory qualities, no one is perfect, and that is the aspect of Al Rawi’s characters that made them memorable to readers. The novel’s ending is another sign of Al Rawi’s progression and maturity as a writer, it is daring and different which might leave some readers disappointed at the unexpected ending but for others, it is a fitting and realistic end for a troubled community such as Iraqis with their long-suffering history and any other end would have just been unacceptable and unrelatable.

Regardless of your nationality or background, ‘Over The Republic Bridge’ is a good read for anyone who has experienced loss in its various nature, it is a journey of acceptance and on this journey, you will meet many characters that shape your thoughts and outlook on life. We at Nasher have given it a rating of 3/5.

Nasher’s Review of “Sisters of the War”

Author: Rania Abouzeid

Since the revolution-turned-civil war in Syria began in 2011, over 500,000 civilians have been killed and more than 12 million Syrians have been displaced, it’s a conflict that is beyond the understanding of adults and has divided people, yet it has been documented for teenagers to learn about Syria’s conflict. Sisters of the War by Rania Abouzeid attempts to bring the complex conflict into the Young Adults literature, as the book follows two real families on different sides of the political divide who end up in similar circumstances.

Through the stories of Ruha and Alaa and Hanin and Jawa, Abouzeid presents a clear-eyed and page-turning account of the complex conditions in Syria leading to the onset of the harrowing conflict.

Eight-year-old Hanin is at first oblivious to the conflict. Her father is certain that the early small protests will be squashed by the Syrian regime. Her family, like that of President Bashar Hafez al-Assad, belongs to the country’s Alawite religious minority, whose members support the government and hold military and security power. Nine-year-old Ruha’s acute awareness of the struggle for justice in Syria begins with a raid on her home during the peaceful uprising in 2011. Subsequently, her town gets shelled and school is no longer safe. Her community is Sunni Muslim, like the country’s majority. Lebanese Australian journalist Abouzeid illustrates the complexity of the Syrian conflict over six years while reporting on and quoting the two families. Both girls’ families suffered in unspeakable ways due to the conflict. Their stories, juxtaposed in alternating chapters, focus heavily on their identities.

While presenting powerful true stories of survival, the book could leave a distorted impression of the Syrian conflict or a rather difficult retelling of a very complicated issue.

Rania Abouzeid, one of the foremost journalists on the topic, follows two pairs of sisters from opposite sides of the conflict to give readers a first hand glimpse of the turmoil and devastation this strife has wrought, yet the language and description of events are not that of a child, in fact reading through the book felt at times as one is reading a news report or a newspaper article. Abouzeid is an award winning journalist yet not many can make the jump from journalism to being an author, it’s a brave and an admirable step by Abouzeid to try and teach teenagers about political conflicts and division, they are after all the future generation who can play a part in correcting the wrongs of our present time, but is the generation of snapchat and tiktok going to be reading ‘Sisters of the War’? Possibly yes, if it is been set by their school or given as a gift, would they be engaged by it and read to the end? Sadly no, and that is because of the style it is written in, it’s a long detailed report of attacks and description of political groups, something that would not grip young readers, they need characters that they could identify with, they need stories that involves them and keeps them wanting to turn the page of the book to read more.

There were glimpses of things that did encourage the reader to keep going with the book, such as  Ruha and her sister Alaa withstanding the constant attacks by the Syrian government in rebel-held territory, while Hanin and Jawa try to carry on as normal in the police state of regime-held Syria. Young readers may well see themselves as Ruha and Hanin, but the characters were not given enough space in the book, though they are the focus of it. The girls grow up in a world where nightly bombings are routine and shrapnel counts as toys. They bear witness to arrests, killings, demolished homes, and further atrocities most adults could not even imagine. Still, war does not dampen their sense of hope.

‘Sisters of the War’ is an important but difficult read for teenagers, it is classified as Young adult non-fiction but it could have been better had it been less ‘reporting’ and more of story telling, young people engage far more in narration of tales that they get emotionally invested in rather than newspaper reports that are often of a cold and matter of fact nature, for that reason we will give the book two stars out of five.  ‘Sisters of the War’ was published in September 2020 by Scholastic Focus.