Tariq Ali tells us the story of the aftermath of the fall of Granada by narrating a family sage of those who tried to survive after the collapse of their world. Ali is particularly deft at evoking what life must have been like for those doomed inhabitants, besieged on all sides by intolerant Christendom. "This is a novel that have something to say, and says it well." --"The""Guardian"
Tariq Ali (Punjabi, Urdu: 胤丕乇賯 毓賱蹖) is a British-Pakistani historian, novelist, filmmaker, political campaigner, and commentator. He is a member of the editorial committee of the New Left Review and Sin Permiso, and regularly contributes to The Guardian, CounterPunch, and the London Review of Books.
He is the author of several books, including Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State (1991) , Pirates Of The Caribbean: Axis Of Hope (2006), Conversations with Edward Said (2005), Bush in Babylon (2003), and Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity (2002), A Banker for All Seasons (2007) and the recently published The Duel (2008).
Though this is historical fiction, Ali's novel provides a window on the late 15th century world of al Andalus Spain, a world where Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand and the powerful heads of the Church have battled their way back to power in most of the country and have made treaties with the remaining Muslim population. These treaties promise freedom of life and religion and peace but it seems that the Queen and certain of the church leaders have other plans. Soon acts of violence against Muslim inhabitants begin with the proviso that only true converts will be allowed to stay.
The story is told through the lives of one formerly powerful and still well known Moorish family who live outside Gharnata (or Granada). Their lives are a microcosm of the beliefs and experiences of what might occur in a well to do family of that day, both enjoying the benefit of prestige and its responsibility. We see all that happens through the eyes of many generations. There is also occasional narration by the Bishop leading the Inquisition in Granada and here is a voice that makes my blood run cold.
At one point, among those worrying about the Christians who might be forming an army to come against them, one man says:
"Allah has punished us most severely. He has been watching our antics on this peninsula for a long time. He knows what we have done in his name. How Believer killed Believer. How we destroyed each other's kingdoms...." (loc 3431)
He is referring to the many wars that erupted within al-Andulus during the Muslim centuries, episodes that ultimately weakened what had been a strong civilization.
I find myself wanting to read more, both fiction and non-fiction, about this time in history. So much of value came out of that earlier period before it was brutally ended in the Inquisition.
I write this review after the close defeat of a potential US Senator, who believed among other things, that a Muslim should not serve in the US Senate because he wouldn鈥檛 swear on the Bible (said douche bag also believes that women should stay in the home and that sex with 14-year-old girls when you鈥檙e in your 30s is okay). This defeat occurred shortly after a sitting US president retweet the unverified 鈥渘ews鈥� tweets of a British hate group. The tweets showed video supposedly showing Muslims behaving badly. A governmental group out of the Netherlands tweeted the president back and said, nope misbehaving dude was not immigrant and not Muslim, and was in jail. When quested about his use of fake news, the spokeswoman for the president who chants fake news 99% of time, said the reality of the videos wasn鈥檛 important, for the president felt they added to the conversation. When it was revealed that the last two 鈥淢uslim鈥� terrorists had been radicalized after their arrival to the US, one could hear crickets chirping. Additionally, there are places in the US where a book that simply depicts a character who is Muslim is banned because it is promoting a religion other than Christianity. I have even taught students who refused to read part of the Korean in a World Lit Class, and before you ask, we had read parts of the Old and New Testament first (granted, I could understand the formal service member鈥檚 refusal. Didn鈥檛 agree with it, but could understand. The other students not so much).
Apparently, there are people in America who would feel right at home in the Reconquista, except for that Catholic bit because according to some of those Americans Catholics worship the Pope.
Ali鈥檚 novel is about a family in Granada right after the conquest by Ferdinand and Isabella. The family is stuck, unsure of whether or not their culture will survive because of the pressure to convert. In short, Ali is telling of the death of a culture, of a lost, one that the reader feels most keenly at the start of the book with the description of book burning.
Is Ali鈥檚 book flawless? No, and, in fact, it is in many ways one of those quiet books where everything is building but the bulk of the actual action is 鈥渟mall鈥� family drama and issues -who will the daughters marry, what is the mystery of the old hermit, and whether a great aunt is truly mad. It is the focus on the quiet, on the family of quasi-believers who are not fully devout that Ali shows how hatred, extremism 鈥� on both sides 鈥� starts. For the actions of the Christians lead to hard choices of the Muslims, but it is those violent actions that also harden the Christians, against those values they should espouse. Ali鈥檚 book is warning, intentional or not, about hatred of a culture or religion and how it destroys all.
Actually it deserves 3.8. I won't deny that I really loved this novel, loved its characters, shared their feelings,dreams..etc, even was saddened at their death.The writer succeeded in portraying life at Andalusia, throughout the book you can see the gardens, the streams, smell the food. the characters are vivid and alive. Also he succeeded in showing how the muslims were civilized, how they carried the light to Europe and also their superiority to their European foes in different aspects of life.Even as conquerors they preserved the lives and civilization of their enemies never forcing anyone to convert to islam. But,the writer is at a great error in matters of islam as a religion dealing with every aspect of our everyday life. We see muslims who have extramarital affairs and the writer gives us the impression that everyone has such affairs. I don't think that Andalusians were that sinful.I can't get over the scene when zubyda finds hind in Ibn daud's bed and acts as if this is normal, a situation that a muslim mother willn't see as normal even in our times. 賽also we see muslims who drink wine but never touch pork, which is werid since both are prohibited(haram).If it weren't for such errors I would have willingly given it the whole 5 stars, but unfortunately I finish it and I feel disappointed.
Entertaining, and might be useful to make some people acquainted with the tragedy of the Spanish Moriscos. Nonetheless, the author passed some important historical errors. One of those - the plot is in Granada around 1499-1500. There are Jews at the service of Christians or living among the Moriscos, and they have Jewish names... That is simply impossible, since Jews had been unfortunately expelled from Spain in 1492. Those who remained were officially Christians and, as such, couldn't have had Jewish names.
This tragically beautiful tale of the aftermath of the Reconquest of Moorish Spain is told through the lives of three generations of a noble Muslim family living near Grenada. The promises of tolerance betrayed by Ferdinand and Isabella, the story revolves around the family's attempt to survive a sadistic Cardinal intent on the destruction of not just their existence, but every memory of them, their faith and their way of life. While the Catholic Church is the ostensible bad actor in this story, the real villain is religion itself. Every religion鈥檚 greatest enemy is its own adherents, and this book demonstrates how Islam in Iberia weakened itself fatally through the same factionalism, conservatism and intolerance which plagues it today throughout the world. While the author also illuminates the same failings in Christianity, and its similarly self-defeating tendency toward extremism, it is the rare glimpse into the struggle between moderate and fundamentalist Muslims, and the glory which was the Moorish Kingdoms of Spain, which is most interesting. Highly recommended.
Note: Even though it is the first volume of a 5 part series, this reads like a stand alone work.
This book is good. The writing style did not grab me, but it confirmed the little I previously knew about the Moors in Spain and their expulsion during the Inquisition. I didn't know previously that it was Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, the ones who sent Columbus to discover America, that were also behind the terrible Spanish Inquisition! The book brought to life the fall of Granada, the terrible burning of all the Arabic litterature, except for a few hundred medical science books. Furthermore this book dispelled alot of misconceived ideas about how Muslims look on sex and marriage. At least back then! For me the characters were very real, in fact their thoughts and feeling felt very modern. I was happy to read a book that isn't about the very strict islamists. The Moors were a very tolerant people, and I enjoyed learning more about that culture. I feel that what they went through was horrible and it was the Christian world that did this to them. I have to understand their anger. What I cannot get out of my mind is that wars, all wars, have to stop. People perpetuate the killing because they cannot forget what has happened to them in the past. We need a clean slate - but how do you achieve that? And what do you do when a leader makes the life of a people in a country "unlivable". Shouldn't that leader be removed? But who decides, and here we go again, with more fighting and killing. Sigh. I have no answers I am glad I read the book. More people whould read this book. Maybe knowledge will help us understand others. Now I have to read a light book, one that you lick your lips after each sentence - I think Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson will do that.
I'm always on the lookout for good Muslamic fiction, and I've always especially loved historical fiction. So this book has been on my TBR for a long time. While it did a decent job showing the state of the Muslims in Spain during the 15th century Reconquest, the plot and the characters fell really flat.
The story doesn't have one main protagonist. Instead, it follows the Banu Hudayl, an elite Muslim family in Spain who witness the oppression of the Spanish as they take over their land. Although many allusions were made to their ancestors' past greatness, there was never an explanation of what it was that made them great, nor why they were so rich and elite to begin with.
The characters were all very one-dimensional, each of them having only one major trait that defines their personality. There was barely a plot. Most of the novel is just family members or servants gossiping about each other, telling tales from their past, and then a few love affairs here and there.
Even the Islamic dimension was lacking. While some family members were devout and religious, there was a greater emphasis on those who didn't have strong faith, who mocked belief in the afterlife, and saw no problem with extra-marital relations.
All in all, I wouldn't bother reading the rest of this series, as intriguing as their historical settings and full of potential they are.
An utterly cliche-ridden, stereotype-pandering, badly written book! I was fully prepared to really like it, but had to struggle to not completely detest it.
Gradina cu rodii simbolizeaza viata, credinta, prosperitatea, dorintele, nasterea si renasterea. E scut impotriva dusmanilor, martora a iubirii, depozitar al secretelor. E locul unde membrii clanului gasesc un refugiu atunci cand au nevoie.
Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree is the first in Tariq Ali's Islam Quintet. Set in Granada, Spain, at the beginning of the 16th century, we see the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition, as seen through the eyes of a wealthy Muslim family.
The Spanish Moors faced a no-win dilemma: Convert to Christianity (and always be suspected by Christians) or die. While some converted 鈥� or appeared to do 鈥� Zuhayr surmised that they would kill the spirit of the Gharnatinos. Make them feel ugly and mediocre. That would be the end of Gharnata. Zuhayr believed it would be far better to raze [Gharnata] to the ground, leaving only that which existed at the beginning: a lovely plain, furrowed by streams and clothed in trees. (Loc. 3572-3575)
I am currently reading Discovery of Witches (yes, a very different genre). Harkness says, of humans, that our strongest distinguishing characteristic is our power of denial. I knew what was coming in Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree, although I was also surprised. We wear white hats. We are the good guys.
Reading Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree turned the story line I'd learned in grade school on its head. We Christians have misbehaved significantly throughout history in the name of religion (we are not the only ones): Cortez, 16 at the time he led the massacre that ended this book, is last seen in South America 20 years later, looking at the riches around him. We are left imagining what Cortez will do to Montezuma and his people.
The Jesus of Godspell and the New Testament would be appalled.
The family at the heart of this book is wise, compassionate, and honorable, each to varying degrees. They wondered what they had done that led to their downfall. Al-Zindiq observed, We founded many dynasties, but failed to find a way of ruling our people according to the dictates of reason. We failed to establish political laws, which could have protected all our citizens against the whims of arbitrary rulers. We who led the rest of the world in the realms of science and architecture, medicine and music, literature and astronomy, we who were a privileged people, could not find the road to stability and a government based on reason. That was our weakness and the Christians of Europe have learnt from our mistakes. (Loc. 2246-2250)
Watching these characters do the right things and lose, was difficult, yet who would I rather be? Cortez, killing innocent men, women, and children, or this honorable family and community that questioned who they were and how they wanted to live? This community that took responsibility for their "mistakes" and attempted to learn from them?
Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree is the first in a quintet, so it will be interesting to see where Ali takes his story. I don't know whether these books share a story line or are only thematically-linked, but I will be back.
'Never forget that if we become like them, nothing can save us.' (Loc. 4076)
No me ha parecido gran cosa y no entiendo la fama que tiene. La trama de la familia musulmana est谩 bien pero toda la parte de religi贸n y de historia de los musulmanes en Espa帽a me sobraba. Si quiero indagar sobre el tema ya buscar茅 yo la informaci贸n, no la quiero en una novela.
This novel by Tariq Ali is the first book in the 鈥淚slam Quintet, a series of stand alone novels based on different periods of Islamic history. Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree takes place in Granada, Al Andalous, Spain 1499, a time when when the Castilian Christians had just taken over Granada, the last of the Arab-Muslim cities. Anyone familiar with this time in history will know that these stories will always be sad. Under "Moorish" rule Christians and Jews were allowed to freely practice their religions. When Isabelle and Ferdinand took over they signed an agreement that the Muslims and Jews would still be allowed to practice their religions, however within a short period they began persecuting all non-Christians, banning not only their religions, but Arabic and Hebrew languages as well as their dress and customs, (such as bathing). The Jews and Muslims had a choice to either leave or convert. These people had called Spain their home for 800 years. For many moving was not an option, however converting also did not solve their problems. New Christian converts known as "Conversos" were looked upon with suspicion and ultimately were subjected to torture until they confessed that they only converted to save their skin. It was a no win situation and this is the situation in which we find the characters in this book. The story focuses on the Banu Hudayl, an old Arab-Muslim family that has lived in the countryside of Granada for 800 years. The Hudayl family chooses neither to convert or leave. Aside from the characters, Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree is basically a retelling of actual historical events and from this angle it's an excellent way to deepen ones knowledge about this time period. It is also clear that Ali's purpose is to show how things change in history. While nowadays many in the West view Islam and Muslim countries are being backward and fanatic, this was not always the case. At the time of the reconquest it was the Christians who were backward and fanatic and Islam was definitely the more progressive religion. One of my few complaints about this novel would be that the author does this in a rather heavy handed way. The Spanish are depicted as inhuman monsters and the Arabs are depicted as being so tolerant and liberal it seemed over the top. In particular their attitude towards sex seemed unbelievable. An example would be a young women who wants to sleep with her fianc茅 before their marriage and the mother actually walks in on them and is not upset. Another example would be the young man confesses both to his fianc茅 and her father that he'd previously had a sexual relationship with another man and both father and daughter react fine with it. The father only wants to be sure that the young man really loves his daughter. I was going to write this off to the authors imagination, but then spoke to an acquaintance who is a professor of medieval Arab history. The professor confirmed than in Muslim Spain depending on which period they actually were quite liberal sexually and there is a lot of erotic poetry and literature confirming it. From what I've been researching same sex relations were also not uncommon, so I guess this was not Tariq Ali's wishful thinking! There was one incident involving incest that was off putting for me, so much that it prevented me from enjoying the novel as I should have. This is too bad because the characters are not even very relevant to the story and could have been left out entirely.
I've finished re-reading , and it seems to me that it's a celebration and testimony to all the cherished parts of Andalusian culture. Many aspects continued in Arabic and Mediterranean cultures, and many have of course changed since the sixteenth century. Those that have changed are recounted with nostalgia (for example, early cooking, medicine, and arts). Those that have not changed are presented with joy (for example, varying shades of religiosity among Muslims, certain cultural expressions and customs). For me, this book is kind of a fictional complement to books and events like , for the title at least. Both focus on a historical moment (Granada in Tariq Ali's book and Cordoba in Rauf's book, both cities in historic al-Andalus / Andalucia / Andalusia), and claim that moment for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to increase appreciation of certain aspects of Muslim and Arabic culture.
Tariq Ali's novel is one of my favorite novels on Andalusia. However, both for its history and for its storytelling, I prefer and highly recommend by Radwa Ashour, especially the original Arabic text (because the English does not include the full text). So ultimately, I see the value of Tariq Ali's novel as providing Muslim perspectives in anglophone literature. Another author who does this is . We recently read her book . Authors such as Tariq Ali and Leila Aboulela allow readers of English fiction to encounter Muslim perspectives through literature, and I think that this is ultimately a service to cross-cultural understanding.
Tariq Ali is different from most of the typical South Asian writers who are heavy on language but light on substance; and who only use twisted sentences and flowery language to sound intelligent. Tariq Ali instead used a smoother and fluent prose to get his point across. No pseudo-philosophical bullshit. I liked that.
BUT, as far as the plot is concerned, there is nothing new. Especially for those who have read Nasim Hijazi's classic Urdu novels. (In particular, I remember reading one of Hijazi's novel called 'Andheri Raat Kay Musafir' (Travellers of the dark night) that describes the final days of Muslim rule in Spain). The only difference is that while Hijazi used a much conservative and idealistic approach in his writings, Tariq Ali was a little bolder and more liberal.
Overall an interesting and a good read, but not something that leaves a very lasting impression. Had it not been for the final third of the novel, I would have given it two instead of three stars.
3.5 stars. Good but it didn't blow me away. I enjoyed it sufficiently to want to read the second in the quintet, however. Some of the writing, particularly the descriptions of the Andalusian landscape, is beautiful. Towards the end, despite its inevitability and the author's forewarning, the horror and heartbreak of the outcome still took me by surprise.
I found this an honest account of a terrible period in Spanish history. The Moors had ruled for centuries, tolerating any and all religions. Then along came Ferdinand and Isabella and the Roman Catholic Church. The latter was only interested in destroying Islamic culture, its language and its people, in order to obtain their lands and riches. So much for Christian values. I say 'honest' because the warring between the different Islamic factions is discussed and regretted and I felt that gave the book balance. Not everything in the gardens of paradise was rosy.
-Lograda como instant谩nea de lo que muestra, pero no igualmente como imagen en movimiento.-
G茅nero. Novela hist贸rica.
Lo que nos cuenta. Siete a帽os despu茅s de la conquista de Granada por los Reyes Cat贸licos, las promesas cristianas a los 谩rabes que mantuvieron su residencia en la regi贸n se las comienza a llevar el viento, siendo la quema de sus libros por orden del cardenal Cisneros nada m谩s que un s铆ntoma de la ruptura de compromisos y de las intenciones de los gobernantes cristianos. A trav茅s de una familia noble 谩rabe se ir谩n presentando los desencuentros que desembocar谩n en algo m谩s grave. Primer volumen de la serie Quinteto del Islam pero que puede leerse de forma totalmente independiente.
驴Quiere saber m谩s de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
-Lograda como instant谩nea de lo que muestra, pero no igualmente como imagen en movimiento.-
G茅nero. Novela hist贸rica.
Lo que nos cuenta. Siete a帽os despu茅s de la conquista de Granada por los Reyes Cat贸licos, las promesas cristianas a los 谩rabes que mantuvieron su residencia en la regi贸n se las comienza a llevar el viento, siendo la quema de sus libros por orden del cardenal Cisneros nada m谩s que un s铆ntoma de la ruptura de compromisos y de las intenciones de los gobernantes cristianos. A trav茅s de una familia noble 谩rabe se ir谩n presentando los desencuentros que desembocar谩n en algo m谩s grave. Primer volumen de la serie Quinteto del Islam pero que puede leerse de forma totalmente independiente.
驴Quiere saber m谩s de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite: