Amin Maalouf (Arabic: ; alternate spelling Amin Maluf) is a Lebanese journalist and novelist. He writes and publishes primarily in French.
Most of Maalouf's books have a historical setting, and like Umberto Eco, Orhan Pamuk, and Arturo P茅rez-Reverte, Maalouf mixes fascinating historical facts with fantasy and philosophical ideas. In an interview Maalouf has said that his role as a writer is to create "positive myths". Maalouf's works, written with the skill of a master storyteller, offer a sensitive view of the values and attitudes of different cultures in the Middle East, Africa and Mediterranean world.
I bought this book in a charity shop for 拢1 because I liked the cover. What a bargain! I loved this tale which revolves around the fears of ordinary people that the world would end in 1666 - The Year of the Beast. I enjoyed the diary format and became quite fond of the diary writer. He was sometimes a pompous man but because he was only writing his journal for himself, he wrote down all his insecurities, worries, etc without reservation and that is how we come to know the real man. It's sometimes funny, sometimes quite moving, never boring and entertaining throughout. I'll happily recommend it as a really good read.
In 鈥楤althasar鈥檚 Odyssey鈥� the best of Umberto Eco meets the worst of Jorge Luis Borges. The erudition towards medieval paraphernalia and the elaborate metaphors are certainly appealing while the narrative best reminds a Mexican telenovela. In one word Borges would have a story where Maalouf has a novel. Yet, can鈥檛 say I didn鈥檛 like it. Bearing in mind futility I ran through the pages with much delight. If Dan Brown is a fair comparison, then I definitely prefer a Lebanese 鈥楧a Vinci Code鈥� over an American one.
N茫o deixa de ser um livro interessante, principalmente devido 谩s viagens feitas pelo protagonista que nos permitem ir ao encontro de outras culturas. Mas o enredo em si n茫o me conquistou tanto como gostaria, e o protagonista irritou-me bastante. O mais importante neste livro s茫o as reflex玫es entre as religi玫es do cristianismo, islamismo e juda铆smo. Existem noventa e nove nomes para Deus, poder谩 existir um cent茅simo? 脕 partir desta premissa o nosso protagonista partir谩 numa demanda que o levar谩 a Constantinopla, G锚nova e Londres. Mas afinal o que n茫o gostei? Das rela莽玫es rom芒nticas do narrador, principalmente com Marta que acaba por ser uma traidora. E do facto de n茫o existir uma evolu莽茫o do protagonista, ele come莽a o livro frustrado e acaba do mesmo modo. Contudo a escrita 茅 soberba, e n茫o deixa de ser uma obra de Amin Maalouf. Um escritor que merece ser lido e reconhecido. Talvez n茫o tenha sido o livro certo para ter iniciado a sua leitura, mas o pr贸ximo ser melhor.
This was an historic tale full of superstitions and tells a story between the years of 1665 and 1666. There is a prophesy that the end of the world will take place in 1666, understandably this makes a lot of people act a little out of the ordinary, and so it is with our protagonist; a gentle businessman, quiet, polite, and a sensible man so we are told.
We brush with a few different religions which makes it interesting, many people even from the same groups of religions have differing opinions about these prophesies and whether it is heresy or not.
And so our protagonist embarks on a pilgrimage of sorts brought about by these prophecies; he is trying to find a book called The Hundredth Name. A book which scares some people merely by the mention of it, it鈥檚 a book which is supposed to reveal the secret hundredth name of god and is in some way connected to the coming apocalypse.
Our main character however appears to be the unluckiest man alive with one disaster after another, it was a real wild goose chase. He doesn't help himself either, he is proud, impatient and gullible, and makes mistake after mistake. He is described as a smart man but he is deceived often and it actually put me off him a bit, he came across as a doddery old fool.
The writing flows really well making it an easy read as the author takes you with him on this strange journey to find out if the end of the world is coming and just what that even means.
I really liked the main part of the story; I liked the trials and tribulations and not really knowing what would happen or where he would go next, even if he himself was a bit of a wally and made me cringe. But ultimately I was left disappointed. The ending was boring, and the book The Hundredth Name never really had much of an impact on the story; it was just a prop to get him to go out and travel. So while I enjoyed going on all the adventures with Baldassare, it led to very little and I sincerely wished I liked him more.
3.5 stars, it was an okay book but not much more, and I鈥檓 rounding down because of the ending.
1666 Annus Horribilis, The Year of the Beast and absolutely a challenge to Balthasar. Love lost, love found, and lost once more.
London is on fire and an eccentric self proclaimed Messiah is opposing the Ottoman Sultan. Balthasar is in the center of it all, no matter where he travels on his quest to get back what was bequeathed to him, the infamous book that may or may not reveal the highest name of Allah, the 100th name.
A very well spun saga, loosely built on the esteemed Genoese Embriaco family麓s history. Did it happen? It just might have happened if you take in the fiction with the facts alike and indulge into imagination, is not that far fetched.
This is an example of how those glowing blurbs that marketing puts on books to get you to read them really does a disservice to the poor writer who suddenly has to live up to a nearly impossible standard. This book, according to the glowing quotes on the jacket, 'did for the 17th century what 'The Name of the Rose' did for the 14th.' Ouch. Not true.
I couldn't wait for this book to end, which is just ridiculous considering that Amin Maalouf set up a really fantastic setting for his story. It's the year of the impending Apocalypse (1666, which tweaks out numerology cranks in every variant of the Abrahamic religions), and the main character ends up on a trip from the Levant to Constantinople to Genoa and eventually up to London, just in time to get mired in the Great Fire. He's after a book that may or may not contain the Hundredth name of God, which might be useful when all the nasties from Revelations start making the rounds.
Somehow, the book manages to be tedious. It's all the main character's journal entries, and I guess it's in character that the journals of a shopkeeper would be a bit pithy, especially one that is a member of a religious minority running a business in a region of the world that has never really been settled or civil. Still, it's a particular device that I have a hard time with, where characters ruminate endlessly on what a minute turn of phrase meant, and who is mildly insulted and who isn't and how little points of etiquette must be observed. It's what makes a lot of Victorian and Regency novels unreadable (Jane Austen, I'm looking at you,) and it's disheartening to see one of the most respected Arabic novelists writing to day mired in this trap. At least he doesn't pull a Melville and natter on and on for pages about what the water looks like when you're sailing from Constantinople to Smyrna.
There are a few subplots, involving romance, deep friendships made with fellow travelers, and a random fake Messiah who complicates the already hysterical religious mood of the region, and every single one of these story lines just sort of dies out in the most unsatisfactory way. Every single one of these subplots is set up as something interesting that could develop into something cool, and then it just kind of doesn't.
About three quarters of the way through when it became clear that I had slogged through all this tedious build up for nothing, nothing whatsoever, I wanted to loose this book on the Metro so I would have an excuse to not finish it, but I'm trying to gain an appreciation (or at least, an understanding), of the literature coming out of the Middle East, and I paid full price for it, so...
Now to be fair, if you took an actual person's journal, this is pretty much what it would be like. When you write down day to day things that you do and things that seem important, there's no narrative flow or story arcs. At least, not polished ones. So, ok, I suppose if you wanted to pretend that this was actually a guy's journal, fine, but it makes for terrible reading. Novels are supposed to skip all the boring crap and have some sort of awareness of narrative flow.
Anyway, I uppsed my rating to two stars because for whatever other faults, it's well researched. I mean, there's not a LOT of stuff, but the few little things like mastis smuggling was pretty interesting.
I'm really sad, I have to say, that this author wasn't more engaging. I really, really want to find an author from the Levant and Middle East that I like. I'm just spoiled by reading the likes of Neal Stephenson and Umberto Eco. Also, the other titles by Maalouf look amazing - I have a copy of Leo Africanus, and I'll probably read it, just in case it's good. One can hope.
"D眉n gece g枚ky眉z眉n眉 g枚zledi; y谋ld谋zlar谋n say谋s谋 ger莽ekten gittik莽e azal谋yor sanki. Birbiri ard谋ndan s枚n眉yorlar; ve yery眉z眉nde yang谋nlar... D眉nya Cennet'te ba艧lad谋, Cehennem'de bitecek. Neden bu kadar ge莽 geldim bu d眉nyaya?" 4,5/5猸愶笍猸愶笍猸愶笍猸愶笍 Ge莽en senelerde yazar谋n kitaplar谋n 莽ok 眉st 眉ste okuyunca araya biraz zaman koymak i莽in kalemine ara vermi艧tim. Me臒er o s眉re莽te d枚rt kitab谋n谋 okumu艧um ve hala unutamad谋臒谋m favori kitaplar谋m Semerkant ve Afrikal谋 Leo'ya bir yenisi eklendi. "Baldassare'nin Yolculu臒u" yazardan okudu臒um en kal谋n ve en uzun soluklu kitab谋yd谋. Daha kitab谋n en ba艧谋ndan yine Amin Maalouf'dan bir kitap okudu臒um hissiyat谋 o kadar a臒谋rd谋 ki yazar谋n yaz谋m 艧ekli, yolculuk boyunca ge莽ip gidecekleri 艧ehirler hakk谋ndaki inan谋lmaz geni艧 bilgisi ve karakterlerinin naifli臒iyle kalemini ne 莽ok 枚zledi臒imi hat谋rlatt谋 bana. Ayr谋ca konusu ger莽ekten inan谋lmaz ilgi 莽ekici bir kitapt谋. Y眉z眉nc眉 Ad kitab谋 tam anlam谋yla ismini konu ediniyor. 1666 y谋l谋nda ge莽en hikayemiz antikac谋 d眉kkan谋 olan Baldassare'nin d眉nyan谋n her k枚艧esinden gelen m眉艧terilerinin kesinlikle arad谋臒谋 ve asla bulamad谋臒谋 bir kitab谋n arama yolculu臒unun hikayesi. Allah'谋n doksan dokuz ad谋n谋 y眉ze tamamlayan bir ad oldu臒una dair b眉y眉k bir inan莽 vard谋r ve bu ad'a ait kitab谋 bulmak i莽in yolu d眉艧en herkes Baldassare'ye de u臒ramaktad谋r. Baldassare'nin ise b枚yle bir 艧eye inanc谋 da kesin olmamakla beraber kitap bir 艧ekilde eline ge莽er. Fakat eline ge莽irmekle kitab谋 yitirmesi bir olur. B枚ylece pi艧manl谋臒谋n谋n su莽uyla kitab谋 tekrar elde etmek 眉zere bir莽ok 艧ehri gezece臒i bir yolculu臒a 莽谋kar. Yazar谋n Konstantinopolis'e de臒inmesi ve Osmanl谋'ya bu kadar a艧ina bilgisi olmas谋 okurken beni olduk莽a 艧a艧谋rtt谋. Ayr谋ca Amin Maalouf her zamanki gibi kimin kaleminden okudu臒umuza bize hat谋rlatmak ad谋na g枚z k谋rparm谋艧 gibi ufaktan bir a艧k hikayesini de kitab谋na kat谋yor ki tad谋ndan yenmesin. Yazar谋n romantizmden geri kalmayan bu 枚zelli臒ini 莽ok seviyorum. Kitab谋 okurken hem ak谋c谋l谋臒谋n谋 hem de sab谋rs谋zl谋臒谋n谋 莽ok daha g眉zel bir noktaya 莽ekiyor. B枚ylece Baldassare'yle birlikte 陌stanbul'dan 陌zmir'e, Cenova'dan Amsterdam'a, Londra'dan Konya'ya bir莽ok 艧ehri beraber geziyoruz. Ve bu kitapla beraber 1666 B眉y眉k Londra Yang谋n谋'n谋 ve zaman谋nda 陌zmir'i kavuran Sabetay Sevi olaylar谋n谋 枚臒renmi艧 oluyoruz. Londra yang谋n谋n谋 duymu艧tum ama Sabetay Sevi'ni tamamen bu kitap sayesinde 枚臒rendim. Kitab谋n gidi艧at谋na ve genel kurgusuna gelirsek son y眉z sayfas谋 眉z眉c眉 bir 艧ekilde ak谋c谋l谋臒谋 elden b谋rakarak daha a臒谋r bir 艧ekilde ilerledi. Son sayfalar yine ayn谋 hareketine ula艧sa da o y眉z sayfa kadar谋 okumak olduk莽a zordu. Kitapta inan莽lara, insano臒lunun fikirlerine dair 莽ok takdire 艧ayan al谋nt谋lar vard谋, hepsi 眉zerine ufak da olsa kafa yormaktan geri kalmad谋m. Ayr谋ca Baldassare karakterinin olaylar谋 okuyucuya anlat谋rken t眉m ya艧ad谋klar谋n谋 deftere yazma tutkusuna hayran kald谋m. 脰rne臒in "oru莽 tutan谋n yeme臒e sar谋lmas谋 gibi ben de bu ya艧ananlar谋 kitab谋ma ge莽iriyorum" tarz谋 benzetmeleri onun bu tutkusuna hep g眉nl眉k tutmaya uzaktan 枚zenmi艧 biri olarak 莽ok g谋pta etmemi sa臒lad谋. Ayr谋ca bu deftere yazarak olaylar谋 anlatma 枚zelli臒iyle de Amin Maalouf farkl谋 bir 艧ekilde kitab谋n谋 bize aktarm谋艧. Kitab谋 ger莽ekten 莽ok severek, bir莽ok yeri bay谋larak okudum. Umar谋m sizler de benim gibi 莽ok severek okursunuz, keyifli okumalar dilerim..
Amin Maalouf'u, "edebiyat谋n "beyefendisi" diye tan谋mlasam 莽ok abartm谋艧 olmam diye d眉艧眉n眉yorum. 脟眉nk眉 ne zaman onun bir kitab谋n谋n ad谋 ge莽se (en az谋ndan bug眉ne kadar okuduklar谋m谋 艧枚yle bir an谋msay谋nca -Semerkant, Afrikal谋 Leo ve Y眉z眉nc眉 Ad), akl谋mda hemen 艧枚yle bir roman karakteri canlan谋yor: olgun, k眉lt眉rl眉, bilgin, adab-谋 mua艧eret bilen, tecr眉beli bir erkek. Ve bu karakter her daim seyahat ediyor, elbette ki ge莽mi艧 zamanda; d眉nya tarihinden bahsedilirken ad谋n谋 s谋k莽a duydu臒unuz pek 莽ok otantik 艧ehre, 眉lkeye ve k谋taya do臒ru...
Seyahat deyince zannetmeyin ki 莽ok detayl谋 tasvirleri var. Gerekti臒i kadar bence, ama daha merakl谋 zihinler belki fazlas谋n谋 bilmek ister de eli bo艧 kal谋r, onu bilemem. Asl谋nda karakter geli艧imleri de b枚yle. Zaten ben de bu adam谋, tam da bu sebeple seviyorum! 脟眉nk眉, 枚rne臒in Stefan Zweig veya O臒uz Atay (ve belki tan谋mad谋臒谋m bir莽ok ba艧ka yazar) gibi detayl谋 tan谋mlamalar yap谋p sizi istedi臒i psikolojik tahlile y枚nlendirmiyor. Benim sade ve yeterli olarak nitelendirebilece臒im Maalouf鈥檜n bu tarz谋, belki baz谋lar谋na yavan gelebilir, ancak benim i莽in tam k谋vam谋nda.
艦imdi ise sizi, zihnimde canlanan enteresan bir betimlemeye davet ediyorum. Nedense Amin Maalouf'u hep 艧枚yle hayal ediyorum: iyisinden k枚t眉s眉ne edeb卯 de臒er ta艧谋yan bunca kitab谋 ve yazar谋, kimilerinin tek ba艧谋na a臒layarak, g眉lerek veya ba臒谋rarak derdini anlatmaya 莽al谋艧t谋臒谋, kimilerinin ise bir araya gelerek zaman zaman kahkahalarla b枚l眉nen kar艧谋l谋kl谋 sohbet halkalar谋 olu艧turdu臒u, b眉y眉k bir kabul salonunda verilen davetin bir konu臒u olarak d眉艧眉n眉n. 陌艧te Amin Maalouf, b枚ylesi bir ortamda, bar sandalyesine yaslanm谋艧, t眉m olan biteni uzaktan izleyen, kendisine d谋艧ardan nazar eden birinin ancak naif bak谋艧larla etraf谋 s眉zd眉臒眉n眉 d眉艧眉nd眉rten, ancak etraf谋nda t眉m vaveylas谋 ile ak谋p giden bu davette kula臒谋na ve g枚z眉ne 莽al谋nan her 艧eye kalbinde yeri geldi臒inde muzip cevaplar veren, yeri geldi臒inde ise bu 艧eylerin i莽ine kapanmas谋na, belki 莽abuk dinecek f谋rt谋nalara, 枚fke patlamalar谋na yahut karamsar i莽 hesapla艧malara sebep oldu臒u, kendi deyimiyle 鈥渟evilmeyi seven鈥� ve ke艧fedilmeyi bekleyen karizmatik bir konuk.
Y眉z眉nc眉 Ad'谋 bitirdi臒imde duydu臒um haz ve bir s眉re ba艧ka kitap okumama iste臒i eminim bir莽oklar谋 i莽in nadir hissedilen 艧eylerdendir. Yazar谋na methiyeler d眉zmem ise tam da bu sebeptendir.
I read Balthazar's Oddysey while traveling to London to give a conference proceeding on surveillance and fiction and will forever associate the event with it. I just couldn't put it down. :) The book reminded me of Umberto Eco's Baudolino in a good and less heavy way (and in no way diminishing its own uniqueness). It was a delight to read about the frenzy which gripped the imagination of people in 1666 and their exalted state of mind, whether they be among the prophets of doom, doubters, anguished or hopeful.
Although the book also notes all pains and concerns of the human mind (including those of a more personal nature than theological debates or the perspective of an impending apocalypse - such as failing relationships between family members, or a stubborn main character who does not want to accept the fact that his lover chose to go back to her husband), with all due seriousness, it has an inherent light-heartedness and humor that make anyone love the storyteller.
The travel notes are very well written, in a way that not only reflects the world as it was but also how 17th-century travelers from the Levant and the Mediterranean might see it. A delightful read:).
I read this book on my way from Lebanon to Turkey, and the trip was all the more enhanced by the reading. The narrator of this novel, a bookseller, takes a similar journey, but in the 17 century, when the terrain was all part of the Ottoman Empire, Written as diary entries, this book could be described as historical fiction, but it is also a peculiar submission to the canon of apocalyptic literature too. Taking place in 1665, the characters that inhabit this book fear that that the world will end the next year. Although the readers know the transition between 1665 into 1666 didn't end in Doomsday, they can observe the fanaticism associated with that anxiety. It's a good yarn.
The premise of the book was great. The year 1666 and the portents are all bleak - the end of the world is nigh. There are some further signs with an eccentric Messiah challenging the power of Constantinople, London burning, plague and general ill feeling. In the middle of all this depression, Balthasar goes looking for a book that supposedly holds the key of salvation - the unknown 10oth name for God. Unfortunately, Balthasar was a rich, educated shallow coward who hoped his money would buy him love, the book and further riches. I wished his odyssey was instead a short trip to the local mall.