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A review by george_salis
Anubis: A Desert Novel by Ibrahim al-Koni
I interviewed the author here (available in English and Arabic): https://thecollidescope.com/2021/07/15/secret-ink-%d8%ad%d8%a8%d8%b1-%d8%b3%d8%b1%d9%91%d9%8a-a-bilingual-interview-with-ibrahim-al-koni/
'"We must slay our father in order to search for our father. We must slay our father in order to find our father."'
According to the author's note, al-Koni crisscrossed the desert in search of every shred and variant of a tale about someone who crisscrosses the desert in search of every shred and variant of their elusive father. Thus, this strange little book is a patchwork interpretation of a cave-scrawled, leather-etched, campfire tale. And so while it's labeled "a desert novel," its origins should be kept in mind.
The story, in which the spiritual world is omnipresent and metamorphoses are quotidian, somewhat evokes Ben Okri's The Famished Road, although it's more sparse and leans on paradoxical/philosophical musings about paternal longings and the unreliability of 'reality.' The last part of the novel is a collection of (un)related aphorisms that al-Koni encountered during his journey. More than a handful of them hold fairly regressive views about women. Here are some non-sexist ones:
"The desert is a paradise of nonexistence."
"The tree is a hero that only falls once."
"Sweat is the body's blood. Blood is the spirit's sweat."
"Time is a vessel with life on its outside and annihilation inside."
"The creator vanishes with the death of his creation. The creation becomes eternal through the creator's death."
While not mind-blowing, Anubis is worth the brief read. If nothing else, it definitely illustrates the desert's menagerie of mirages, a parched fever dream that might make you reach for a glass of water.
'"We must slay our father in order to search for our father. We must slay our father in order to find our father."'
According to the author's note, al-Koni crisscrossed the desert in search of every shred and variant of a tale about someone who crisscrosses the desert in search of every shred and variant of their elusive father. Thus, this strange little book is a patchwork interpretation of a cave-scrawled, leather-etched, campfire tale. And so while it's labeled "a desert novel," its origins should be kept in mind.
The story, in which the spiritual world is omnipresent and metamorphoses are quotidian, somewhat evokes Ben Okri's The Famished Road, although it's more sparse and leans on paradoxical/philosophical musings about paternal longings and the unreliability of 'reality.' The last part of the novel is a collection of (un)related aphorisms that al-Koni encountered during his journey. More than a handful of them hold fairly regressive views about women. Here are some non-sexist ones:
"The desert is a paradise of nonexistence."
"The tree is a hero that only falls once."
"Sweat is the body's blood. Blood is the spirit's sweat."
"Time is a vessel with life on its outside and annihilation inside."
"The creator vanishes with the death of his creation. The creation becomes eternal through the creator's death."
While not mind-blowing, Anubis is worth the brief read. If nothing else, it definitely illustrates the desert's menagerie of mirages, a parched fever dream that might make you reach for a glass of water.