Scan barcode
innashtakser's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant book on a man caught in a world of Christianity shortly after it became an established religion within the Roman empire. The protagonist cannot find his place in a world where Christian fanatics struggle for supremacy with these Christians attempting to retain something of the preexisting culture and with the non-Christians whose culture as well as very existence is jeopardized.
rassfrass's review against another edition
3.0
This book had some good writing in it, and was a fascinating read if you consider the fact that in spite of the age in which it was written, parts of it were quite progressive.
lukre's review against another edition
2.0
I'll just go ahead and say it - nothing really happens in this book
oliainchina's review
3.0
Azazeel is a book about Christianity’s shadow, it’s dark side, it’s duality, it’s devil, or Azazeel. It is also a fictional portrait of the Eastern part of Byzantium in the 5th AD, notably it’s ecclesiastical history: one of the characters is Nestorius, who was excommunicated as a heretic, Hypatia, who was lynched by a mob of Christian fanatics, and Cyril, a scheming bishop of Alexandria. The story is told through the eyes of a Coptic monk Hypa, whom I heavily disliked - he was tedious, tepid, and rambling. Even his “sins” were depicted in a boring and somewhat unpleasant way that made those pleasures of the flesh feel really dirty.
I haven’t smiled once while reading this novel. It is that dead serious. But it might be rewarding if you are after a philosophical approach towards that rarely visited period of Christian history when the creed was just being articulated by the “fathers” - people at the helm of the largest churches of the Empire, and politicians.
What I liked was an immersion into the world of Eastern Christianity, which the author achieved masterfully. And I finally read a comprehensive description of Nestorian beliefs!
I haven’t smiled once while reading this novel. It is that dead serious. But it might be rewarding if you are after a philosophical approach towards that rarely visited period of Christian history when the creed was just being articulated by the “fathers” - people at the helm of the largest churches of the Empire, and politicians.
What I liked was an immersion into the world of Eastern Christianity, which the author achieved masterfully. And I finally read a comprehensive description of Nestorian beliefs!
karencarlson's review
4.0
Like most stories, this one is told out of order. Add to that multiple layers of storytelling: most of the book is from a 5th century manuscript, with a few marginal notations from an anoymous 10th century reader, and an introduction from a fictional translator in the present day. The basic plot line follows Hypa, an Egyptian Coptic monk in the 5th century, as he travels to Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Aleppo in search of peace. Doubts and questions follow him, and he’s caught in a struggle between Church and world. I spent a lot of time on the first half, looking up every person, place, and idea mentioned, primarily to make sure I was picking up on any subtext, but also because I find it fascinating. I guess this would be a historical novel, since many of the events did take place, and quite a few historical people play crucial roles in Hypa’s life, including the mathematician/philosopher Hypatia and the Bishop Nestorius. A complex read – I will need to read it at least two more times, since there are many threads and themes – but a good one to anyone interested in the period, or in the psychological aspects of faith.
FMI see my blog post at A Just Recompense.
FMI see my blog post at A Just Recompense.
e_bibliophile's review
To my friends who don't speak Arabic:
Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan, a fictional novel intersected with real historical events and characters, where the narrator is an anonymous translator. He leaves a will that his translation work must be published after his death. The translation is on Syriac chronicles written by an Egyptian monk/physician called Hypa who started writing them in 431 AD. Hypa constantly accuses Azazeel (the devil) of making him write down his adventures and recall his painful memories and sins from the past on scrolls which will be the chapters of this book.
What Azazeel hides:
The book tells Hypa's journey between churches and monasteries, so it mentions his stop at Jerusalem, where he meets the warm-hearted Father Nestorius. Hypa retrieves his visit to Alexandria to pursue his studies of medicine and theology. The Translator portrays through Hypa how much religious extremism was spread and to what extent the conflict raged between Christians, Jews, and Pagans in that period of the fifth century, and how religion was exploited by fanatics to serve their own political agendas in order to ascend the throne of power. Hypa committed his first forbidden sin in Alexandria, when he was seduced by Octavia the Pagan maid of the Sicilian merchant. Hypa blames his devil or the woman in front of him for his sin, he/she is the hanger that sinners hang their misdemeanors on before repentance, as if God created lusts and never created deterrence! In one occasion, Hypa meets Hypatia whom he derived his own name from, that famous mathematician whom he never heard of before, what she was and what happened to her left a profound impact in his convictions and left him wandering after that in the Sinai desert in search of himself, himself which he no longer recognizes. Afterwards, he joins a convoy heading to Antioch, passing by Damascus and Aleppo, and he settles in those parts. News came from Constantinople; the capital of the Roman Empire, that heresies spread between the bishops, priests, and monks which led to the sectarian schism among the main churches. Finally, Hypa falls in love with a beautiful young woman named Martha whom he trained to sing carols. But, did she love him back?
Youssef Ziedan:
Besides the smooth language and beautiful metaphors used, the value of the book lies in Youssef Ziedan's mixing of the internal psychological conflict of the protagonist wandering in crossroads between religion and life, and what that character brings on in a likable manner of telling historical conflicts that have occurred at the time. I am a fan of flashbacks and Ziedan was successful in using them in most cases, as he was very successful in forming the dialogues between Hypa and Azazeel. Regardless of my censure on the events that took place, I wasn't surprised by the practices and assassinations that had occurred in the name of religion yet had nothing to do with religion, as if history reproduces itself as the terrorism disguised under the cloak of religion, which we are currently witnessing in modern times. Youssef Ziedan wrote history so beautifully and made historical events very exciting and interesting to read, unlike common history books that can be so dull and difficult to digest.
Criticism:
I liked the writer's style and the content of the book in general, but somehow lost interest after exceeding the first half of the novel. Also, Ziedan's usage of pornography is distasteful and it offends the modesty of ordinary readers. If he refrained from portraying those scenes and only referred to what happened as some sort of credibility in a more subtle and sophisticated approach, he would still have conveyed his idea to the reader. The existence or non-existence of those details in such a vulgar manner didn't add to the book any significance. Especially after I realized that the translator, Hypa, and his personal experiences are mere imagination of Ziedan's, so those personal experiences did not basically occur to require credibility in the first place. In my opinion, the writer wanted to go with the flow, where pornography is a condition for the success of any literary or artistic work. I am not against the freedom of expression for writers and to do their work as they deem fit, but I did not find an excuse that serves the context of the novel to repeat those scenes in details over three chapters or more. I won't let that point cloud my overall judgment and objectivity enough to rate the book with less than three stars.
Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan, a fictional novel intersected with real historical events and characters, where the narrator is an anonymous translator. He leaves a will that his translation work must be published after his death. The translation is on Syriac chronicles written by an Egyptian monk/physician called Hypa who started writing them in 431 AD. Hypa constantly accuses Azazeel (the devil) of making him write down his adventures and recall his painful memories and sins from the past on scrolls which will be the chapters of this book.
What Azazeel hides:
The book tells Hypa's journey between churches and monasteries, so it mentions his stop at Jerusalem, where he meets the warm-hearted Father Nestorius. Hypa retrieves his visit to Alexandria to pursue his studies of medicine and theology. The Translator portrays through Hypa how much religious extremism was spread and to what extent the conflict raged between Christians, Jews, and Pagans in that period of the fifth century, and how religion was exploited by fanatics to serve their own political agendas in order to ascend the throne of power. Hypa committed his first forbidden sin in Alexandria, when he was seduced by Octavia the Pagan maid of the Sicilian merchant. Hypa blames his devil or the woman in front of him for his sin, he/she is the hanger that sinners hang their misdemeanors on before repentance, as if God created lusts and never created deterrence! In one occasion, Hypa meets Hypatia whom he derived his own name from, that famous mathematician whom he never heard of before, what she was and what happened to her left a profound impact in his convictions and left him wandering after that in the Sinai desert in search of himself, himself which he no longer recognizes. Afterwards, he joins a convoy heading to Antioch, passing by Damascus and Aleppo, and he settles in those parts. News came from Constantinople; the capital of the Roman Empire, that heresies spread between the bishops, priests, and monks which led to the sectarian schism among the main churches. Finally, Hypa falls in love with a beautiful young woman named Martha whom he trained to sing carols. But, did she love him back?
Youssef Ziedan:
Besides the smooth language and beautiful metaphors used, the value of the book lies in Youssef Ziedan's mixing of the internal psychological conflict of the protagonist wandering in crossroads between religion and life, and what that character brings on in a likable manner of telling historical conflicts that have occurred at the time. I am a fan of flashbacks and Ziedan was successful in using them in most cases, as he was very successful in forming the dialogues between Hypa and Azazeel. Regardless of my censure on the events that took place, I wasn't surprised by the practices and assassinations that had occurred in the name of religion yet had nothing to do with religion, as if history reproduces itself as the terrorism disguised under the cloak of religion, which we are currently witnessing in modern times. Youssef Ziedan wrote history so beautifully and made historical events very exciting and interesting to read, unlike common history books that can be so dull and difficult to digest.
Criticism:
I liked the writer's style and the content of the book in general, but somehow lost interest after exceeding the first half of the novel. Also, Ziedan's usage of pornography is distasteful and it offends the modesty of ordinary readers. If he refrained from portraying those scenes and only referred to what happened as some sort of credibility in a more subtle and sophisticated approach, he would still have conveyed his idea to the reader. The existence or non-existence of those details in such a vulgar manner didn't add to the book any significance. Especially after I realized that the translator, Hypa, and his personal experiences are mere imagination of Ziedan's, so those personal experiences did not basically occur to require credibility in the first place. In my opinion, the writer wanted to go with the flow, where pornography is a condition for the success of any literary or artistic work. I am not against the freedom of expression for writers and to do their work as they deem fit, but I did not find an excuse that serves the context of the novel to repeat those scenes in details over three chapters or more. I won't let that point cloud my overall judgment and objectivity enough to rate the book with less than three stars.
More...