Papa Sartre: A Modern Arabic Novel (Modern Arabic Literature) (23 page)

Before I could utter a single word, Nunu spoke up, “This time you’ll get your money in installments.”

The philosopher added in an accent that resembled that of a notable Iraqi man, “We’ll give you the royalties we make from the book as well.”

Lighting a cigarette, I interjected, “Well, we’ll face a problem you may not have thought about.” Nunu rushed to light my cigarette.

“What’s that?” The philosopher asked.

“Who said that Islamic culture marginalizes madness? I don’t think it does. A mad person has a respectable place in society, and the proof is you.”

Both exploded in laughter, “Are you sure?” asked the philosopher, smiling.

“Do you have any doubt?” I asked.

Nunu chimed in, ready to light up another thick cigar, “Please, no mockery.”

The philosopher approved, “Don’t you see that Islamic philosophy did not marginalize madness and as a result fell victim to illogical thinking. Otherwise where in our culture could it have come from? It must have come to us from within our civilization, which did not marginalize madness as western culture did.”

“Sound idea,” I concurred, trying to avoid getting sucked into the project.

Michel explained, “All right. We’ll write a book condemning Islamic civilization because it did not marginalize madness. Had reason prevailed in our civilization, madness would have been marginalized, and because madness has not been marginalized our civilization has became illogical.”

“Great, great,” shouted Nunu and almost sat on Michel’s lap. He laughed loudly, stood up, clapped, and went to the bar. Nunu got up as well. They danced and swayed for joy, holding up their whiskey glasses and drinking to structuralism and the death of existentialism. This crazy man was dreaming of changing the viewpoint of the whole Arab population, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Gulf, by having them adopt structuralism. Men would shave their heads and wear gold-framed glasses. Women would cut their hair short like boys
and wear pants. I didn’t know how to get out of my predicament. I stood up and began dancing with them, drinking to the health of the newborn structuralism. I was shouting, dancing, and rocking back and forth. The chairs in the living room were overturned, and the servants looked on in shock. When both Nunu and Michel fell to the floor, I opened the door and ran as fast as I could.

One day I was walking down the street and saw a black and white stork land on the Turkish embassy. I crossed the street under a soft sun. Traffic was moving smoothly, and I heard the voices of the newspaper salesmen and cigarette merchants and the car horns all around me. A man in white headgear was walking in front of me. He was holding a string of prayer beads, and a woman wrapped totally in black walked behind him. Someone shouted, “Sheikh Jamal, Sheikh Jamal.” I don’t know why, but at this exact moment I thought of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and how Ismail Hadoub might have been influenced by him. Guided by this philosopher he would likely be wearing a white turban and holding prayer beads, while Nunu would be walking behind him wrapped in black from head to toe.

Modern Arabic Literature

from the American University in Cairo Press

IbrahimAbdel Meguid
Birds of Amber • Distant Train

No One Sleeps in Alexandria
•
The Other Place

Yahya Taher Abdullah
The Collar and the Bracelet • The Mountain of Green Tea

Leila Abouzeid
The Last Chapter

Hamdi Abu Golayyel
A Dog with No Tail
•
Thieves in Retirement

Yusuf Abu Rayya
Wedding Night

Ahmed Alaidy
Being Abbas el Abd

Idris Ali
Dongola • Poor

Radwa Ashour
Granada

IbrahimAslan
The Heron
•
Nile Sparrows

Alaa Al Aswany
Chicago
•
Friendly Fire
•
The Yacoubian Building

Fadhil al-Azzawi
Cell Block Five • The Last of the Angels

Ali Bader
Papa Sartre

Liana Badr
The Eye of the Mirror

Hala El Badry
A Certain Woman
•
Muntaha

Salwa Bakr
The Golden Chariot • The Man from Bashmour

The Wiles of Men

Halim Barakat
The Crane

Hoda Barakat
Disciples of Passion
•
The Tiller of Waters

Mourid Barghouti
I Saw Ramallah

Mohamed Berrada
Like a Summer Never to Be Repeated

Mohamed El-Bisatie
Clamor of the Lake

Houses Behind the Trees • Hunger

A Last Glass of Tea
•
Over the Bridge

Mahmoud Darwish
The Butterfly’s Burden

Tarek Eltayeb
Cities without Palms

Mansoura Ez Eldin
Maryam’s Maze

Ibrahim Farghali
The Smiles of the Saints

Hamdy el-Gazzar
Black Magic

Fathy Ghanem
The Man Who Lost His Shadow

Randa Ghazy
Dreaming of Palestine

Gamal al-Ghitani
Pyramid Texts
•
The Zafarani Files
•
Zayni Barakat

Tawfiq al-Hakim
The Essential Tawfiq al-Hakim

Yahya Hakki
The Lamp of Umm Hashim

Abdelilah Hamdouchi
The Final Bet

Bensalem Himmich
The Polymath
•
The Theocrat

Taha Hussein
The Days
•
A Man of Letters
•
The Sufferers

Sonallah Ibrahim
Cairo: From Edge to Edge
•
The Committee
•
Zaat

Yusuf Idris
City of Love and Ashes
•
The Essential Yusuf Idris

Denys Johnson-Davies
The AUC Press Book of Modern Arabic Literature

In a Fertile Desert: Modern Writing from the United Arab Emirates

Under the Naked Sky: Short Stories from the Arab World

Said al-Kafrawi
The Hill of Gypsies

Sahar Khalifeh
The End of Spring

The Image, the Icon, and the Covenant
•
The Inheritance

Edwar al-Kharrat
Rama and the Dragon
•
Stones of Bobello

Betool Khedairi
Absent

Mohammed Khudayyir
Basrayatha

Ibrahim al-Koni
Anubis • Gold Dust
•
The Seven Veils of Seth

Naguib Mahfouz
Adrift on the Nile
•
Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth

Arabian Nights and Days • Autumn Quail • Before the Throne • The Beggar

The Beginning and the End • Cairo Modern

The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street

Children of the Alley
•
The Day the Leader Was Killed

The Dreams
•
Dreams of Departure
•
Echoes of an Autobiography

The Harafish
•
The Journey of Ibn Fattouma
•
Karnak Café

Khan al-Khalili
•
Khufu’s Wisdom
•
Life’s Wisdom
•
Midaq Alley

The Mirage
•
Miramar
•
Mirrors • Morning and Evening Talk

Naguib Mahfouz at Sidi Gaber • Respected Sir
•
Rhadopis of Nubia

The Search
•
The Seventh Heaven • Thebes at War

The Thief and the Dogs
•
The Time and the Place

Voices from the Other World
•
Wedding Song

Mohamed Makhzangi
Memories of a Meltdown

Alia Mamdouh
The Loved Ones
•
Naphtalene

Selim Matar
The Woman of the Flask

Ibrahim al-Mazini
Ten Again

Yousef Al-Mohaimeed
Wolves of the Crescent Moon

Ahlam Mosteghanemi
Chaos of the Senses
•
Memory in the Flesh

Shakir Mustafa
Contemporary Iraqi Fiction: An Anthology

Mohamed Mustagab
Tales from Dayrut

Buthaina Al Nasiri
Final Night

Ibrahim Nasrallah
Inside the Night

Haggag Hassan Oddoul
Nights of Musk

Mohamed Mansi Qandil
Moon over Samarqand

Abd al-Hakim Qasim
Rites of Assent

Somaya Ramadan
Leaves of Narcissus

Lenin El-Ramly
In Plain Arabic

Mekkawi Said
Cairo Swan Song

Ghada Samman
The Night of the First Billion

Mahdi Issa al-Saqr
East Winds, West Winds

Rafik Schami
Damascus Nights
•
The Dark Side of Love

Khairy Shalaby
The Hashish Waiter
•
The Lodging House

Miral al-Tahawy
Blue Aubergine
•
Gazelle Tracks
•
The Tent

Bahaa Taher
As Doha Said
•
Love in Exile

Fuad al-Takarli
The Long Way Back

Zakaria Tamer
The Hedgehog

M.M. Tawfik
Murder in the Tower of Happiness

Mahmoud Al-Wardani
Heads Ripe for Plucking

Latifa al-Zayyat
The Open Door