Granada

GranadaRadwa Ashour skillfully weaves a history of Granadan rule and an Arabic world into a novel that evokes cultural loss and the disappearance of a vanquished population. The novel follows the family of Abu Jaafar, the bookbinderhis wife, widowed daughter in law, her two children, and his two apprenticesas they witness Christopher Columbus and his entourage in a triumphant parade featuring exotic plants and animals and human captives from the New World.

Radwa Ashour skillfully weaves a history of Granadan rule and an Arabic world into a novel that evokes cultural loss and the disappearance of a vanquished population. The novel follows the family of Abu Jaafar, the bookbinderhis wife, widowed daughter-in-law, her two children, and his two apprenticesas they witness Christopher Columbus and his entourage in a triumphant parade featuring exotic plants and animals and human captives from the New World. Embedded in the narrative is the preparation for the marriage of Saad, one of the apprentices, and Saleema, Abu Jaafar's granddaughtera scenario that is elegantly revealed in a number of parallel scenes.

As the new rulers of Granada confiscate books and officials burn the collected volumes, Abu Jaafur quietly moves his rich library out of town. Persecuted Muslims fight to form an independent government, but increasing economic and cultural pressures on the Arabs of Spain and Christian rulers culminate in Christian conversions and Muslim uprisings.

A tale that is both vigorous and heartbreaking, this novel will appeal to general readers of Spanish and Arabic literature as well as anyone interested in Christian-Muslim relations.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Published: 10/01/2003
ISBN: 9780815607656
Pages: 248
Weight: 0.98lbs
Size: 8.96h x 5.90w x 0.79d

Review Citations: Library Journal 12/01/2003 pg. 162
Booklist 12/15/2003 pg. 725
Choice 07/01/2004 pg. 2040