The Road from Damascus
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Review
'A novel so packed with ideas it threatens at times to explode ... One of the author's gifts, and he has many, is to give us characters, who, even at their most wilfully one-dimensional, are believable and, at times, funny' Independent 'A fantastically enjoyable, wise and intelligent novel that grows in the telling and should cause the most feted of literary stars to sit up and take notice' Big Issue 'A rambunctious and daring novel, with scattered comedy amid the drama' Metro
Product Description
It is summer 2001 and Sami Traifi is struggling. His PhD seems to be slipping ever further from his grasp, and a recent trip home to Damascus has thrown up some disturbing family secrets. On top of all this, his wife Muntaha has just announced that she is taking up the hijab, at a time when he couldn't feel more distant from faith, religion, and from having any answers for any of the big questions.
Furious with Muntaha, he finds himself embarking on a spontaneous quest for meaning and fulfillment, but all too soon his search spirals into a hedonistic rampage and threatens to destroy everything that he has . . .
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'The Road from Damascus' is a well-written and very enjoyable novel. It is about Sami Traifi, a struggling PhD student who was born in Britain to Syrian parents. The story is set in the summer of 2001 when Sami has just returned from a month's trip to Syria in a somewhat unsuccessful attempt to find his roots. Upon his return to London he finds that his wife Muntaha has begun wearing the Muslim headscarf (hijab) as an expression of her newly found spirituality. Sami, a staunch secularist, is outraged. In a state of frustration and uncertainty, he embarks on a journey of drinking and drugs,which ultimately lands him in a police lock-up for the night. Having reached a state of mental and physical exhaustion, he then begins to find some answers to the questions that have been troubling him for so long.
The novel is an entertaining and often moving tale of Sami's relationships with his wife and others close to him, and through these relationships much bigger themes are explored: secularism and religion, modernity and tradition, love and loyalty. For the reader with limited exposure to Arab and Muslim society, the novel offers a refreshing take on the complexity of culture, identity, race, and religion in a globalising world. Indeed, the novel takes a daring, and timely, approach to issues which are often framed in the western media within the narrow paradigm of a "clash of civilisations".
The depth and breadth of the issues dealt with do not make light reading. However, the novel is entertaining and in parts very funny, and I found it difficult to put down. The story is told in a style which is engaging, employing beautiful turns of phrase, at times capturing the flavour of its setting with the language of the London streets. Overall, 'The Road from Damascus' is boldly original, in parts challenging, and an excellent read. I highly recommend it.
The novel is an entertaining and often moving tale of Sami's relationships with his wife and others close to him, and through these relationships much bigger themes are explored: secularism and religion, modernity and tradition, love and loyalty. For the reader with limited exposure to Arab and Muslim society, the novel offers a refreshing take on the complexity of culture, identity, race, and religion in a globalising world. Indeed, the novel takes a daring, and timely, approach to issues which are often framed in the western media within the narrow paradigm of a "clash of civilisations".
The depth and breadth of the issues dealt with do not make light reading. However, the novel is entertaining and in parts very funny, and I found it difficult to put down. The story is told in a style which is engaging, employing beautiful turns of phrase, at times capturing the flavour of its setting with the language of the London streets. Overall, 'The Road from Damascus' is boldly original, in parts challenging, and an excellent read. I highly recommend it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Books written by authors of Islamic or Arabic backgrounds tend to be quite charged and politicised, or end up relying on a certain orientalist mystique. This was not the case when I read The Road From Damascus. The characters are realistic, portrayed as flawed, confused individuals who are stumbling their way through the bewildering events that marked the start of the 21st century. In a rather unusual style, I found the main character, Sami Traifi, to be contemptible and unlikeable, which is precisely what the author intended him to be, however, this does make the book a challenge at times. Regardless, what is masterfully woven into the storyline is what life within the West London Islamic and Arab community was, and remains, like. The Acton, Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith triangle of London is the backdrop in some parts of the story and you could almost smell the interior of the old mosques, the seedy bars or the dingy night clubs. A bit too realistically for some to be comfortable with but a gripping read nonetheless. Finally, the philosophical aspects, based on Sufi mysticism, of the main character's personal development are very intriguing and very well researched.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
An ambitious and in the main hugely successful first novel, The Road from Damascus charts Sami Traifi's dramatic fall from academic and marital grace, and his gradual reconciliation with Islam, his Syrian heritage, and his wife's decision to wear the hijab. Yassin-Kassab's writing is culturally and historically astute, deeply informed by politics, theology and poetry, yet always fluid, personal and intensely imaginative. The inner conflicts of a secular British-Muslim are richly drawn on a canvas that stretches from a family secret in Damascus to the destruction of the Twin Towers, from a coke-fuelled spree of rebellion to the private space of prayer. Fundamentalism is satirised, but gently - a young Brother with an excitable belief in jihad is also a loving brother, brother-in-law, son and step-son. Intellectually the book sizzles, exploring not only the subtleties of Islamic thought but also the volatile power-keg of global ideologies in conflict; emotionally the narrative simmers with a warm, aromatic brew of observations and insights. Some minor characters could have been more satisfyingly developed, but the author does a tremendously sensitive job of conveying the complex nerve-structure of family relations. Sami's calm and elegant wife emerges as a powerful and independent figure, while Sami's need to come to terms with the loss of his father and accept his own adult responsibilities to others forms the heart of this compelling book. Highly recommended.
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