The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist is a sobering and often depressing look at Israel's "conquering" and occupation of Palestine, wherein the roles of conqueror and conquered are clearly delineated and deeply entrenched.
Although something seems lost in this English translation, there are moments of absolute brilliance in Habiby's work that manage to break through. Saeed Pessoptimist's entire world is a prison: mental, physical, spatial and spiritual, but through his great gift of pessoptimism, he manages to escape to his own brand of freedom.
I wish I could read Arabic so that I could truly appreciate Emile Habiby's great work of art. This is an important read for anyone interested in understanding a culture currently engaged in one of the saddest ongoing chapters in modern Middle Eastern history.
I read this book for a Book Group who read books publised in both English and Arabic. It was not an easy book to penetrate and I was not the only one who felt they would not have persevered if we hadn't been going to discuss it. While a number of books have been written about the Israeli / Palestinian problems, this was a bit unusual in that it was written from the point of view of an Arab remaining in Israel after the occupation. It was also written thirty five years ago, without the benefit of the foresight that we now have.
The book is semi autobiographical - the author was also an Arab who remained in Israel but whereas Habiby rose to hold a postion within the Israeli parliament, his 'hero' was nothing more than an informer for the state, and not a very good one, at that.
Although the book is broken up into short chapters, I found some of them made little sense in the early part of the book. Eventually the pattern started to emerge of a young man who really just wants to live his life with the minimum amount of fuss. He sees the Israelis as people who have invaded and who he must therefore obey - he is their possession. He does not favour revolutionary tactics - it took 200 years to shake off the Crusaders and he seems ready for the long wait. It's quite a sad tale of a young man who loves and loses more than once. There is an element of comedy but it is more irony than carefree humour. He is an optimist and an pessimist (hence the title), looking on the bright side of the bad and the dark side of the good, although there doesn't seem a lot of hope in his struggle with life.
There is a 14 page introduction to the novel (which I found made more sense when read afterwards) which explains some of the nuances and writing style but still left many questions ananswered - like why was Saeed (voluntarily) abducted by aliens and why was he sitting frozen and motionless on a stake?
I am very glad I read this with the benefit of discussion afterwards. I think the reader would have to have a lot of relevant background, not just historical but also cultural, to untangle it otherwise.
The elders of Zikhron Yaqub disagreed about the following problem: Is it lawful for a man to sleep with his wife on the Sabbath, or is it the act of a kind of work and therefore not lawful on that day? They went to the rabbi for a decision as to whether it was work or pleasure. The rabbi thought long and hard, and then he ruled that it was pleasure. They asked him for his reasoning. He replied: 鈥淚f I had ruled it to be work, you would have given it to the Arabs of Fraydis to perform!鈥�
This satirical work is quite a mixed bag. The writing within the book ranges from outstanding to nonsensical, mundane to outlandish, inspired to quotidian. But for the most part, it holds together. It is also very reminiscent of a number of other literary works and none more so than 鈥淕ood Soldier Svejk鈥�. Unlike Svejk, who is perhaps more vexatious than endearing, Saeed commands more sympathy and respect than the Czech buffoon. Despite being a simpleton, Saeed comes across as more noble and loyal. His character does grow and mature as he transits from the time of the Palestine Mandate 1948 to the Arab Israeli War 1967.
Apart from Svejk, there are small similarities with other well known books/authors. There are Vonnegut-like fantastical elements and escapism. There are different generations of people with the same name like 鈥淥ne Hundred Years of Solitude鈥�. Some parts even read like magical realism.
Saeed always seems to be on the move, constantly crossing borders but somehow never getting back home, perhaps reflective of the Palestinian people with no place to call home. He yearns for his true love Yuaad. Yet he settles for a more practical marriage with Baqiyya, producing a revolutionary son in the process.
It was a bit difficult to follow the rather disjointed story at the start. But the middle section was better connected and more enjoyable to read. Then it got a bit weird at the end. Overall, not brilliant but a decent read.