The Journey of Ibn Fattouma

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Summary: A Journey of Discovery
Review: A counter epic, the story centers around the "there" but not the "back again". As I read it, when Ibn Fattouma goes from place to place in search of Gebel, he learns all sorts of things - mostly tolerance. Sure all the places seem like a what would could be modern day places, it boils down to Ibn Fattouma trying to find that all illusive "Heaven" or "Nirvana" or "Shangri-La" - What is the true illusion? That it does not exist? maybe. Anyway, his experiences with Arousa is a wonderful metaphor as the everyman. Places like Mashriq, Haira, Halba, Aman and Ghuroub we get a chance to see outrselves and the ridiculous ways that we organize ourselves. In short, it is a story of discovery. It makes me think of the futility of a search for that perfect place. Where does he center his perfect place? Guess you will just have to reaqd the book. it is the only piece of Mahfouz that I have read and I am not surprised to learn that he was awarded a Nobel Prize.

Miguel Llora

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Summary: Another attempt to scale the Tower of Babel?
Review: I am a fan of Naguib Mafouz, and I eagerly picked this novel up, hoping that it would be as transporting as Arabian Nights and Days. The journey of Ibn Fattouma disappoints: it has nowhere near the lyricism of Arabian Nights and Days or the sophisticated interweaving of fable, magic and reality.

Readers who enjoyed the Cairo Trilogy, a series of three realistic novels, and who want to sample Mafouz' more iridescent writing should not start with this book. That written, The Journey of Ibn Fattouma does have things to offer those interested in political science, false utopias, or even fledgling democracies.

Others reviews on the page have eloquently captured the different societies that Ibn Fattouma visits on his journey to Gebel. I wondered throughout the book if this was a parable for the Tower of Babel, a story found in the Christian Old Testament, the Hebrew Talmud and the Muslim Koran. In the story as I know it, God punished the Summerians for building a tower to heaven because they were trying to become God, or at least outshine him. The Tower becomes a symbol for perfection, and like many perfections, an unobtainable one. Thus, it was interesting to me that after Ibn Fattouma visits all these supposedly perfect societies Haira, Halba, Aman ('hope' in Arabic), he finally reaches Gebel, situated on a mountain.

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Summary: 160 Pages of Poetry
Review: Mahfouz's book The Journey of Ibn Fattouma is an incredible, poetic work which follows Qindil, Ibn Fattouma, from 'The Land of Islam' on a life-long quest to find Gebel, the land of perfection.

The only detractions I could make are that the translation, while flawless in its mechanics, is not as poetic as I imagine the original Arabic text to be (based on what I have read about the Arabic.) This comes with translation, however, and the work of turning it to English remains highly poetic, beautiful, and was clearly the work of a master in both languages. The other detraction is a stylistic one. Mahfouz's chapters all follow the same basic formula: Qindil arrives in a new place; Qindil's guide gives him a brief rundown of it; Qindil explores the city; Qindil meets with a religious leader; Quindil gets in trouble because of a woman; Qindil leaves.

If you get past that, which seems not to be an insurmountable request, the work is an incredibly well crafted piece which explores the depth behind religion, religious freedom, hedonism, tolerance, perfection, and humanity.

If you like John Steinbeck or Toni Morrison, you're likely to enjoy Mahfouz as well. Clearly, he is a writer who puts considerable thought into the meaning, the higher purpose, of his work.