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The Rock of Tanios

Amin Maalouf

Discussion: Middle East (includes Turkey)

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Jun 21, 2017 Krista the Krazy Kataloguer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-historical-fiction, read-adult-fiction, read-iic

Wow! What a great story! Maalouf has taken a true incident, a murder, that occurred in 19th century Lebanon and woven around it a mesmerizing, mythic story of cause and effect, revenge and its consequences. The narrator of the tale seeks to explain the mysterious disappearance of a young man named Tanios from a certain rock on the outskirts of the village of Kfaryabda. One simple event--the village Sheikh sleeping with his major-domo's wife, thus resulting in the birth of Tanios--causes a chain Wow! What a great story! Maalouf has taken a true incident, a murder, that occurred in 19th century Lebanon and woven around it a mesmerizing, mythic story of cause and effect, revenge and its consequences. The narrator of the tale seeks to explain the mysterious disappearance of a young man named Tanios from a certain rock on the outskirts of the village of Kfaryabda. One simple event--the village Sheikh sleeping with his major-domo's wife, thus resulting in the birth of Tanios--causes a chain reaction of events, at first on a local scale, and then, in ever-widening circles, to a national and then international arena. The reader feels sorry for innocent Tanios, who is used by others for nefarious purposes he doesn't always understand until it's too late. Having been schooled by the Reverend Stolton, who has treated him like a son, he tries to make forgiving and kind decisions, but even when he does it turns out to be disastrous. The narrator seems to conclude in the end that Tanios disappeared in order to lead a life that he can control, to no longer be controlled by others. But, as the narrator adds, no one knows for sure.

I love Maalouf's writing. The reader is compelled to read on, thinking that events could not possibly get any worse or more complicated. This story reveals some of the reason behind how modern-day Lebanon came to be. Like Tanios, Lebanon was used in a power-play between Egypt on the one hand, and Britain/France/Italy/Austria/Turkey on the other. Neither side seemed to really care about the villagers, the native people of the land, who suffered the most. Maalouf's characters are interesting and mostly likeable--even the bad guys, at times, show some redeeming qualities. I also found the description of the elaborate customs of social status and government fascinating. Their rigidity contributed down the road to some of the problems that arose.

I'm so glad I read this book, and can't wait to read more by Maalouf. I can't recommend this book highly enough!! ...more

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Jun 20, 2016 Mounir rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: literature-francais, arabic-translation

لا أذكر من قال ما معناه أن الأديب أو الشاعر هو الذي يكتب أساطير حديثة لشعبه. وأمين معلوف في هذه الرواية البديعة المليئة بالدراما والصراع يكتب أسطورة حديثة من جبل لبنان. وعلى خلاف الأساطير العتيقة نجد هنا أنه لا فرق بين العام والخاص: فأبطال القصة رغم أنه يتم وصفهم بكل تفاصيل حياتهم الدقيقة بحميمية شديدة تنم عن معرفة وثيقة بهؤلاء الناس وأسلوب حياتهم، ورغم أننا نتخيل أن الضيعة المنعزلة في جبل لبنان بعيدة تماما عما يحدث في العالم، إلا أن مصائر الشخصيات تتقاطع مع الأحداث السياسية والتاريخية في عصرهم، ...more

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