Book Review: 'Samarkand' by Amin Maalouf
The novel Samarkand, written by the Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf, belongs to the world of historical fiction, as it claims that when the ship "Titanic" sank in April 1912 in the waters of the "New Earth" the greatest of the victims was a book that is a unique copy of "Rubaiyat" of Omar Khayyam, a Persian sage, poet and astronomer. It is a book with no date, no signature, and nothing but these enthusiastic words:
Samarkand, the most beautiful face the Earth has ever turned towards the sun.
What kind of journey could have endured this much dispersion and loss!! This amount of noise and calm at times, and love and hatred at several times? What kind of manuscript is this that was able to emerge from its slumber and shake the ashes of the years from it, after who thought that time had buried him and laid on him? Perhaps it wasn't just a few papers gathered together, perhaps it wasn't ordinary words that came out of nowhere and were arranged haphazardly.
This is the story of a thousand-year-old manuscript. A manuscript traveled to many regions of the world, witnessed stories of love and war, and despite those events that could have caused its disappearance and extinction, he chose to die by drowning, suffocated by the cold of the ocean.
In this novel, the journey of the manuscript is presented, which included the most famous verses of poetry written by the poet and philosopher "Omar Khayyam". In addition to that, we can consider this novel a historical novel par excellence, as it has become a rich material and a sufficient reference to know the historical facts that occurred in that era of time in ancient Persia.
This novel was divided into four books, separating two completely different periods of time. In the first period, the writer takes us to the period in which Omar Khayyam lived, to deal with his biography, his unique love story, his dear manuscript and the belief in its death, and his relations with important historical figures.
As for the second period, the writer takes us to the end of the nineteenth century, discovering the existence of the manuscript, and the journey of searching for it and saving it again by the American citizen Benjamin A. Losage.
The writer begins by describing the birth of the manuscript and its arrival in the hands of "Omar". Although he was a "philosopher" in a city that considered every philosopher to be an infidel and hostile to God's religion, he was able to gain the trust of the princes because he was known for his intelligence and wide knowledge. In this book, Omar gets to know two characters who will become pivotal in the novel, his beloved "Jihan" and his friend "Hassan Al-Sabah".
As we follow the events, we are interrupted by a scene that is the point of separation between the simple, calm narrative rhythm towards the noisy rhythm full of clashes, as “Omar” mediates with his friend “Hassan” in order to appoint him to a high position because of his intelligence and acumen, but Hassan’s ego and greed push him to cause confusion with the aim of taking over the highest positions and work to spread his faith. But for the second time, Omar interceded with his friend at the Emir's office not to kill him. But would this behavior might lead our poet to regret later? How was Hassan able to challenge his friend's trust in him?
From here was the beginning of the second book, which was called "The Assassins' Paradise", but what is this paradise, who are these Assassins and what do they do?
After Hassan was exiled, he searched for a place through which he could spread his faith and form an army for him that would spread in various cities to urge people to belong to them, and from here, out of the unbridled desire to take authoritarian and repressive measures, the utopia of rejection was formed by "Hassan Al-Sabah" in the city of "Alamut". The fortified area from which terror, killing, and destruction emanate at the hands of the Assassins and their leader, these Assassins who were so named after their use of one thing, which is "religion and faith".
Among those who were invited to join the faith of Hasan was Omar. Omar, that peaceful, sober person who was never addicted to anything but science and beauty, the stars and planets, poetry and mathematics. How could he accept such a request? And if he refuses, what price will he pay for it?
With the succession of events, the writer stops us in this era at the scene of the burning of the great library of "Alamut" by the Mongols and the death of "Omar" lamenting and weeping his poems that were burned with similar ones, or this is what he thought about them.
We enter the second time period, whose hero was the American "Benjamin", who is an expert and fond of Persian matters. He has an urgent need to track down the manuscript and revive it again. Hence, Benjamin begins his long journey that he started from Paris to Constantinople to Persia, to reach the day when his hands touch the surviving manuscript papers.
In the second era, we see the emergence of personalities very similar to the personalities of the first era, with their simplicity and wisdom, their cunning and danger, as if it was an attempt by the writer to make historical projections to demonstrate the continuity of the system of terrorism, killings, and wars. As the purpose of the trip soon changes from searching for the manuscript to experiencing the scourge of the East, which is trying to establish a constitution and deny the principles of conservatives.
Poor Benjamin, on the battlefield, holding his rifle, he defended a cause that was never his, but he believed in its importance and necessity for this suffering people. It is the psychological diaspora that squeezes his heart and pushes him to think of a way to get out of this continuous cycle and start over!
Here is the Titanic, with its classical music that resounds in the middle of the ocean, with its wine glasses that are soon empty until it is filled again, with its Hollywood lights, swimming over the ocean with solemnity. Watchful eyes, sincere laughter, a thousand wishes hanging on the stars, and an iceberg standing as a hunter of souls to be the end point of this imaginary journey and the last grave that embraces the poems of "Omar Khayyam".
Book information:
Book: Samarkand
Author: Amin Maalouf
Issue date: 1988
Pages: 276
Genre: Historical Fiction