The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho

The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho follows a woman’s search of herself through stories from people who knew her. Athena (as she preferred to be called), or Sherine (as she is called in her official documents) or Hagia Sofia (the name she chose to be called of when performing a ritual that turns her half conscious), is a restless and free-spirited woman who had a huge effect on every person she met and who struggled to transcend the expectations her parents and society had of her in leading a normal life. She was born in Romania/Transylvania to a gipsy mother who put her in an orphanage when she was only a week old. Later, she would be adopted by a rich Lebanese family who would take her in and shower her with all the love and protection they could give and raise her to become an independent woman. The novel tells the story of Athena through the eyes of the people of knew her during her search for meaning in her life and her search to fill in the blank spaces. Her journeys between Romania/Transylvania, Lebanon, London, Dubai, and Scotland helped her discover who she really was and her contact with different people from different cultures made her come in contact with spiritual figures and learn new things and rituals that could help her in her life and have an effect on people around her. The different perspectives through which we get Athena’s story give a lot of depth and make the reader reflect on each perspective and how it is formed and leave them with the choice to adopt whatever version they like of the protagonist.

Quotes:

-"When I’m with a group of people and I want to provoke them by asking that most important of questions: ‘Are you happy?’, they all reply: ‘Yes, I am.’

Then I ask: ‘But don’t you want more? Don’t you want to keep on growing?’

And they all reply: ‘Of course.’

Then I say: ‘So you’re not happy.’ And they change the subject."

-“What is a teacher? I'll tell you: it isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.” 

-"My experience as a manager had taught me to recognise people’s states of mind, even if they said nothing. On a management course I attended, we learned that if you wanted to get rid of someone, you should do everything you can to provoke them into rudeness, so that you would then have a perfectly good reason to dismiss them." 

-“Don't be like those people who believe in "positive thinking" and tell themselves that they're loved and strong and capable. You don't need to do that because you know it already. And when you doubt it — which happens, I think, quite often at this stage of evolution — do as I suggested. Instead of trying to prove that you're better than you think, just laugh. Laugh at your worries and insecurities. View your anxieties with humor. It will be difficult at first, but you'll gradually get used to it. Now go back and meet all those people who think you know everything. Convince yourself that they're right, because we all know everything, it's merely a question of believing.” 

-“The day is made up of 24 hours and an infinite number of moments. We need to be aware of those moments and make the most of them regardless of whether we're busy doing something or contemplating life.” 

-“Because all my life I've learned to suffer in silence - Athena” 

-“No one can manipulate anyone else. In any relationship, both parties know what they're doing. even if one complains later on that they were used.” 

-“I've noticed that loneliness gets stronger when we try to face it down, but gets weaker when we simply ignore it.” 

-“There is only one difference between teacher and disciple: the former is slightly less afraid than the latter. Then, when they sit down at a table or in front of a fire to talk, the more experienced person might say: ‘Why don’t you do that?’ But he or she never says: ‘Go there and you’ll arrive where I did’, because every path and every destination are unique to the individual.

The true teacher gives the disciple the courage to throw his or her world off balance, even though the disciple is afraid of things already encountered and more afraid still of what might be around the next corner.” 

Chinese Cinderella, the Secret Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah

Chinese Cinderella, the Secret Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah  is a memoir of a little Chinese girl recounting her story from early childhood till the age of 14. Adeline Yen Meh was the youngest of her biological siblings whose mother died while she was giving birth to her. As a result, she has always been blamed for her mother’s death and regarded as a “bad luck”. Adeline grew up in a rich family that was controlled by her stepmother who always regarded her as “nothing” and who privileged her own children over Adeline and her siblings. Her father was careless and obeyed his wife’s orders and her siblings constantly bullied her. The story gives great information about Chinese culture and China’s history in 1940’s as it reveals the miserable life of an unwanted daughter who made her way through her dreams and ambitions; a girl who believed she was nothing and had nothing special but due to her courage and talent, she was able to achieve what seemed impossible. She was able to change her destiny from an arranged marriage to completing her studies in England and excelling in creative writing which used to be her refuge during her childhood that allowed her to escape from her hard reality.

Quotes:

“Please believe that one single positive dream is more important than a thousand negative realities.” 

“But you can vanquish the demons only when you yourself are convinced of your own worth.” 

“You may be right in believing that if you study hard, one day you might become fluent in English. But you will still look Chinese, and when people meet you, they’ll see a Chinese girl no matter how well you speak English. You’ll always be expected to know Chinese, and if you don’t, I’m afraid they will not respect you as much.” 

“Transcend your abuse and transform it into a source of courage, creativity and compassion.” 

“I read because I have to. It drives everything else from my mind. It lets me escape to find other world.”

Scheherazade Goes West: Different Cultures, Different Harems by Fatema Mernissi

The kind of books that I love are the ones that keep me attached to its pages until I finish it, provide  me with new information from different fields that sustains my attention and interest and the ones that make me want to read other books that are mentioned in them. Scheherazade Goes West: Different Cultures, Different Harems by Fatema Mernissi is definitely one of those books. I enjoyed reading it from the first till the last page and it triggered me to take notes and make further research on the themes she brought out.

While Mernissi was on a book tour for her Dreams of Trespass: Tales of Harem Girlhood, she was curious about the different reactions she received from male journalists when they knew that she was really born in a harem. The reactions differed from Americans to Europeans which made her even more curious to carry on a research to know how the West perceived the harem and everything that is related to it. She discussed and made research with Western intellectuals and journalists about how the West read, saw, studied and learnt about the Harem and how their perceptions were affected either by the Western version of the Arabian Nights (The Thousand and One Nights), the Western painting about the East, and Hollywood movies. Furthermore, she presented how the East differed in their definition of the harem and what it represented as an institution where women’s power wasn’t underestimated. She also presented that contrary to the West’s perceptions, the Muslim world presented Muslim women in paintings and in literature as powerful heroines and leader who used their brains more than their bodies and their eroticism or sexuality. She analyses Scheherazade’s persona in the Arabian nights and how this celebrated heroine who saved her nation from a despotic king Shahrayar based on her intellect, knowledge and wit was misrepresented in the West and shrunk in an erotic body and sensual dances in opera houses around Europe. Scheherazade’s weapon to bring the king into his senses and reason was her skills of weaving words together and producing stories that kept king wandering and thinking for months without slaying her.

Mernissi also points out the importance of oral tradition and story-telling in the Arab world. She goes back to earlier centuries to cite that street story-tellers were censored at times because they were regarded as dangerous figures for the ruling system as their power was manifested in their words (they functioned as leftist journalists of modern times). She also explains that Arabs were very late in documenting their oral traditions that best expressed their true culture.

She delves in a journey of mutual learning with the French journalist, Jacques, who introduced to his own harem and fantasies of the odalisques paintings that are exhibited in different French Museums. Just afterwards, Fatema Mernissi introduces Jacques to the harem of Harun al Rashir, as he requested.

Quotes:

-“What changes do Western artists inflict on Scheherazade in order to make her conform to their fantasies when she crosses their frontiers?”

“A woman should start with her easiest problems. Eliminate the small things you can control.”

-“woman should lead her life as a nomad. She should stay alert and be ready to move, even if she is loved. For, as the tale teaches, love can engulf you and become a prison.”

-"I became almost self-confident. I say almost, because I realized early on that self-confidence is not a tangible and stable thing like a silver bracelet that never changes over the years. Self-confidence is like a tiny fragile light, which on and off. You have to replenish it constantly."

-"Travel is not about fun but about learning, about crossing boundaries and mastering the fear of strangers, about making the effort to understand other cultures and thereby empowering yourself."

“”That is what fear does,” I thought, “It blinds you to the world’s beauties.””

مصطفى خليفة، القوقعة، يوميات متلصص

تنتمي هذه الرواية الواقعية إلى أدب السجون و هي تختزل معاناة الكاتب في السجون السورية بتهمة هو نفسه لا علم له بها. 

أمضى الكاتب فترة دراسته الجامعية بفرسا و بمجرد وصوله إلى مطار بلاده، تم القبض عليه من طرف الشرطة السورية و تم اعتقاله و تعذيبه على مدى اثنى عشر سنة.

تحكي الرواية الأحداث اليومية للكاتب و السجناء الآخرين و عن قسوة التعذيب في السجون و المهانة و الذل و الإحتقار و القتل الذي .تعرضوا له كما يظهر كمية الفساد المتنتشرة في الأجهزة الأمنية

رواية رائعة بكل الألم و القهر الذي تحمله في ثناياها. تجعل القارئ ينكب على القراءة دفعة واحدة متلهفا لمعرفة المزيد و متشوقا لمعرفة مصير السجناء و إذا ما كان ذلك العذاب و الجحيم سينتهي.

اقتباسات من الرواية:

-“ان الانسان لا يموت دفعة واحدة، كلما مات له قريب او صديق او احد من معارفه فإن الجزء الذي يحتله هذا الصديق او القريب يموت في نفس هذا الانسان، و مع الايام و تتابع سلسلة الموت تكثر الأجزاء التي تموت داخلنا ... تكبر المساحة التي يحتلها الموت ...”

-“أنا أؤمن بقول يقول إن الإنسان لا يموت دفعة واحدة ، 

كلما مات له قريب أو صديق أو واحد من معارفه

فإن الجزء الذي كان يحتله هذا الصديق أو القريب ... 

يموت في نفس هذا الإنسان !.. 

ومع الأيام وتتابع سلسلة الموت ... 

تكثر الأجزاء التي تموت داخلنا ...

تكبر المساحة التي يحتلها الموت ...

و أنا يا لينا ... أحمل مقبرة كبيرة داخلي ، تفتح هذه القبور أبوابها ليلاً ... 

ينظر إليّ نزلاؤها .. يحادثونني ويعاتبونني .” 

-“من هو أول سجين في التاريخ؟ من الذي اخترع السجن؟ ... كيف كان شكل السجن الأول؟ هل هناك سجين واحد في كل العالم، في كل الأزمان، في كل السجون، قضى في السجن عاماً واحداً أو أكثر، ثم عندما يخرج يكون هو...هو؟” 

-“الفائض الرئيسي في السجن هو الوقت، هذا الفائض يتيح للسجين أن يغوص في شيئين، الماضي .. والمستقبلن وقد يكون السبب في ذلك هو محاولات السجن الحثيثة للهرب من الحاضر ونسيانه تمامًا. 

والغوص في هذين الشيئين قد يحوّلان الانسان إمّا إلى حكيم هادئ، أو إلى شخص نرجسي عاشق لذاته ومنكفئ لا يتعاطى مع الآخرين إلا في الحدود الدنيا، أو إلى مجنون” 

  

فاتحة مرشيد، الملهمات

  في روايتها "الملهمات"، تقوم الكاتبة المغربية فاتحة مرشيد بالبحث في أغوار النفس البشرية و علاقاتها بالآخرين.  

تقدم أحداث الرواية من زاويتين، الأولى تتحدث من خلالها أمينة و هي سيدة غنية متزوجة بصاحب دار نشر معروفة و أم لطفلين.تعيش مع خيانة زوجها الدائمة لها و رغم أنها تعرف عن معظم مغامراته إلا أنها اختارت الصمت. الرواية تبتدأ بتعرض زوجها لحادث سيارة عندما كان يقل عشيقته من المطار فماتت هي بينها دخل هو في غيبوبة مما شجع أمينة على البوح لزوجها الغائب عن الوعي عن مغامراته و كيف عرفت و عن حياتهما معا و كل المصاعب التي واجهها كما تحكي له عن خيانتها له مرة كرد فعل لكل خياناته المتكررة.

الزاوية الثانية، يحكيها صديق زوجها المقرب "الأستاذ ادريس" المعروف بالكاتب الناجح و الذي بمجرد علمه بحادثة صديقه يعتكف في البيت للكتابة. الأستاذ ادريس لم يكن أقل من صديقه فقد خان زوجته أيضا عدة مرات حتى عندما كانت تعاني من سرطان الرحم و عندما ماتت لم تتوقف علاقاته. العلاقات بالنسبة إليه ككاتب تعتبر إلهاما و مصدر وحي لكتاباته، قصصه و رواياته. لكل امرأة عبرت حياته الفضل الأكبر فيما يكتبه فهي تفجر قريحته الإبداعية. في انتظار استيقاظ صديقه من الغيبوبة يقوم الكاتب بكتابة آخر أعماله عن ملهماته في الكتابة و ملهمات صديقه في الحياة.

لغة الرواية بسيطة و شاعرية ككل كتابات فاتحة مرشيد كما أنها تهتم جدا بالجانب النفسي لشخصياتها و تقوم بعرض كل التأثيرات 

التي أدت إلى تكوينها.

“أنا صنيع كل النساء اللواتي عبرن حياتي..
بدأ من التي منحتني الحياة.. إلى التي أيقظت الرجل بداخلي.. والتي فتحت لي باب الإبداع على مصراعيه.. والتي جعلت قلمي يتألق.. والتي كانت ورقة مبسوطة تحت يدي..
فكل كتاب عندي مقرون بامرأة.. كل فرحة عندي مقرونة بامرأة.. وكل انكسار كذلك.
كثيرا ما كتب النقاد عن مساري الأدبي، كمن يكتب عن مسرحية معروضة على الخشبة، جاهلين ما يجري في الكواليس.
قررت الآن، بعد المشهد الأخير، أن أرفع الستارة الخلفية وأهديكم العرض الحقيقي.. عرض الكواليس المفعم بقلق الممثلين وتقلباتهم المزاجية.. بعلاقاتهم السرية وانفعالاتهم الحقيقية التي يوارونها خلف الماكياج والأقنعة قبل أن يرسموا ابتسامة تستحق منكم التصفيق…”

- فاتحة مرشيد

عبد الله ناصر الداوود، فتاة اليوتوب

فتاة اليوتوب للكاتب السعودي عبد الله ناصر الداوود تحكي قصة شابة سعودية، غدير، و هي من أسرة مرتاحة مادية و تثق بابنتها و أخلاقها. غدير كانت تعيش حياة كانت تراها مملة فقررت أن تدخل عالم العلاقات عبر الهاتف مع التحفظ على شخصيتها الحقيقية و لكننها تقع في خطأ فادح يجعل حياتها جحيما و مليئة بالخوف و التوتر و القلق طوال الوقت. تنضم غدير إلى عالم الإيمو و تكتشف خباياه و تصبح عضوة نشيطة به للتهرب من خوفها و ألمها إلا أن تستجمع شجاعتها و تقرر مواجهة و إصلاح الخطأ دون علم عائلتها.
 الرواية تبرز مظاهر تحفظ الشعب الخليجي -السعودي خاصة- من خلال التطرق لمواضيع العلاقات بين الشباب و الفتيات و ما يصحب ذلك من خوف و فضيحة وابتزاز...

Okakura Kakuzo, The Book of Tea

The Book of Tea (1906) by the great Japanese scholar Okakura Kakuzo gives a detailed examination of the ceremony of tea in the Japanese culture and how Teaism has become a way of life by digging in its Taoist and Zen Buddhist roots. This book (long essay) is addressed to the West which challenges Western stereotypes about the East of being “barbarian” and provides an in-depth view of the Japanese culture through the culture of tea and its etiquette and significance in the Japanese society.

The examination goes beyond the Tea ceremony and covers other aspects and values of the Japanese culture.

Quotes:

“Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.”

“But when we consider how small after all the cup of human enjoyment is, how soon overflowed with tears, how easily drained to the dregs in our quenchless thirst for infinity, we shall not blame ourselves for making so much of the tea-cup.”

“The Taoist and Zen conception of perfection... the dynamic nature of their philosophy laid more stress upon the process through which perfection was sought than upon perfection itself. True beauty could be discovered only by one who mentally completed the incomplete. The virility of life and art lay in its possibilities for growth.”

“[Tea-masters] have given emphasis to our natural love of simplicity, and shown us the beauty of humility. In fact, through their teachings tea has entered the life of the people.”