White Masks, Elias Khoury, Archipelago Books, 2010, 303 pp; (originally published in Lebanon, 1981, translated from the Arabic by Maia Tabet)
This was the translated book I read in September. Elias Khoury is Lebanese. I have read two other novels of his and loved them both: Gate of the Sun and As Though She Were Sleeping. Like those two books, White Masks takes place in Beirut. Since that country had been in the news, I thought it might be appropriate.
Though the novel was published in the United States in 2010, it was originally published in Lebanon in 1981, making it one of his early novels. It covers a period of months during the Lebanese Civil War which lasted for 15 years, 1975-1990. The war was religious, political, and devastating to the country.
The corpse of Khalil Ahmad Jaber, a civil servant, was found in a mound of garbage. He had been missing for weeks before he was found. A journalist, who narrates the story, sought to piece together what had happened to Jaber. He interviews many people, including the man's widow. Thus the reader gets a sense of life in Beirut during the early part of the war.
I won't tell you this was easy to follow. Each person interviewed has their own particular story to tell about Jaber, about his or her own life and about the violence around them. I got a sense of what it was like for everyday people, for the police and the soldiers. Hard times for all and quite a bit of brutality. Khoury shows the breakdown of society typical of any area where war is being waged.
It was a brilliant way to portray all of that and it was also a mystery. I was interested in the effects of civil war on the psyches and inner lives of men, women and children. The front cover blurb speaks of the resilience of people. I did not get that. I got that such an amount of chaos and uncertainty breaks people. It certainly broke Khalil Ahmad Jaber.
Some American pundits claim we may be heading for civil war in America. I sincerely hope we do not come to that.
And to think that Beirut was once considered the Paris of the Middle East! As for civil war in America, I think that philosophically you are there now, where people of different political views can barely stand to talk to each other, and with arsenals of weapons in the hands of malcontents, conflict can break out at any time. This is already a country where Nazi style marches take place with WWII anti-semitic chants, Jews are slaughtered in their synagogues, black people are slain in their churches, or for having the effrontery to go jogging, and ultra right wing white supremacists receive the endorsement of the president. And on top of that, out of three hundred and thirty millions of people, the best choice the country has to offer is between Trump and Biden. No one should seriously discount the likelihood of civil war.
ReplyDeleteI don't discount it, David. I do fear it.
DeleteIs the mystery about what happened to Jaber? Civil war is so bleak ... 15 years. awful. These translated works are nice to know about ... thx Judy.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is the mystery and it does get solved to a degree.
Delete"not with a bang, but a whimper" T.S. Eliot it seems like he's wrong, sometimes, though, as strife spreads world-wide...
ReplyDeleteI think it is a bit of both.
DeleteShould I read this, Judy? Is the confusion worth the payoff? Or should I look for something else that will teach me about the Lebanese Civil War?
ReplyDeleteHa, good question! I did both. I looked up the Civil War history as I read the book. The worth of the book is that it shows us what the news and the history do not: what life is like for actual people living through such events.
DeleteReading your review, I realized I had another of Elias Khoury's books on my shelf - Yalo. I bought it a long time ago fully intending to read it right away but that obviously did not happen. This one sounds well worth a read and I think I'll have to check this one too.
ReplyDeleteThat is one of his I have not read. I would love to know what you think. He is a challenging but quite beautiful writer.
DeleteBased on your review, this seems to be a rather comprehensive look at that period and that place. Such a troubled part of the world. One wonders if there will ever be true peace there.
ReplyDeleteOne does wonder.
DeleteThis does sound like a very heavy book but one that really shows how things were during this period of time. I also hope we're not headed for civil war...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Unknown. Would you mind identifying yourself?
DeleteThis sounds like a very long read! I really hope we don’t head for ANOTHER Civil War in America, especially if Trunp wins the election again...
ReplyDeletehope not
Delete*Trump
DeleteThe Lebanese Civil War was such a horrendous event. I was a teenager for much of it who was interested in foreign affairs so I remember following it with fascination and horror.
ReplyDeleteI am optimistic that despite America’s problems, we are not headed towards a civil war situation.
I was not paying any attention to the news in those days, so it was eye opening for me. I hope you are right about America. I know that the news these days is so sensational, but we do have some deep divides.
DeleteSounds like a book worth reading! I'll ad it to my wishlist of books.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I've also heard "some American pundits claim we may be heading for civil war in America. I sincerely hope we do not come to that." Keeping fingers crossed the civil unrest will die down.
I hope you enjoy it too.
DeleteThe way I see it, we have to be ready for anything these days, but civil war would be quite horrific.