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doriastories 's review for:
Granada
by Radwa Ashour
Beautifully written novel, detailing the experiences of a Muslim family in Granada over several generations, in the immediate aftermath of the conquest of 1492. At once intensely personal and individualistic, it is also the story of a community; interwoven throughout the overarching family saga is a thoughtfully composed series of vignettes, depicting the life of ordinary people faced with the inevitable and brutal dissolution of their culture.
Viewing historical events from the perspective of townsfolk, rather than aristocrats, takes away the safe remove we so often feel when reading about something as distant and abstract as the Reconquista or the Inquisition. The language is lovely, richly descriptive, and even sentimental at times, but neither we nor the citizens of Granada are shielded from violence or tragedy.
Confronting the loss of their livelihoods, their language, their religion, and even their names, as every possible indignity is heaped upon them, different individuals respond according to their nature: by turns with humor, rebellion, despair, fatalism, panic or indifference. Few facets of human nature are ignored in this sensitive exploration of the experience of a conquered people.
Viewing historical events from the perspective of townsfolk, rather than aristocrats, takes away the safe remove we so often feel when reading about something as distant and abstract as the Reconquista or the Inquisition. The language is lovely, richly descriptive, and even sentimental at times, but neither we nor the citizens of Granada are shielded from violence or tragedy.
Confronting the loss of their livelihoods, their language, their religion, and even their names, as every possible indignity is heaped upon them, different individuals respond according to their nature: by turns with humor, rebellion, despair, fatalism, panic or indifference. Few facets of human nature are ignored in this sensitive exploration of the experience of a conquered people.