The Bleeding of the Stone

"It was only when he started praying that the male goats decided to butt one another right there in front of him." I tell you, that's a fine first line. It's the kind of first line that draws the reader in, and summarizes the issues of the book: the distractions that arise as the protagonist, Asouf, focuses on God, distractions that are really all that life is made up of, for in the end, it is all the small things we face that determine our short existence on this planet. Asouf's focus thus is not so much on God, as on the desert, which he lives in, and is part of. It brings into question what it is that Asouf worships most of all. This is an excellently written novel, and one of the few out there in English written by Middle Easterners, from a truly Middle Eastern point of view. Al Koni presents many interweaving themes, heavy on the symbolism, constant flash-backs and foreshadowing premonitions, bringing up a deep concordance with the Latin Pedro Paramo, though not quite as confusing. At times a bit too gruesome, but always very moving, very magical, very real. And the language Al Koni writes with! Poetic prose. Vivid imagery. I saw what Al Koni described, and had to go over the words again and again, to relive the moments. "The mighty waddan was still now. He saw him raise that great head, crowned with the legendary horns, and face the mysterious thread that heralded dawn. The faint, divine glow within which the secret of life forever dwells anew." A lot of this magic comes from the novel being steeped in folk Islam, that type of Islam imbued with many folk religious practices, practiced by the majority of Muslims around the world, but considered heretical by Islamic religious hierarchy. This thus becomes an excellent novel to understand the mind of a folk Muslim, particularly a North African- not because it gives a litany of different folk practices, but rather because the novel shows the thinking of one aware of the excluded middle of the supernatural, that between the ethical and the great God above, the movements of the supernatural that pragmatically effect the here and now. The beasts of the desert have spirits, and a greater awareness than humans. The jinn (genies) must be placated and considered before making decisions- and here, in this particular desert, they stand tall above all, seeing everything in their pictures on the rock walls. And transformation from one form to another is possible- not because it is believed, but because it is seen, and believing is seeing. Bleeding of the Stone is also a novel of contextual environmentalism. As Al Koni builds up the stories, we receive a picture of a land wasted, a land destroyed, because the people have chosen ways removed from their soul, from the desert, and have become possessed. His use of metaphor is strong, with one of the main characters, Cain, son of Adam, representing a vast people's choice to turn from proper management and care for the desert, while Asouf chooses the

A short novel here presents the dilemma of Asouf, the main character, whose bedouin sensibility (if one can say that) gives him not only great reverence for the life of the Libyan desert but also occult knowledge of it. Asouf is sought for knowledge of the secret wealth of the desert and he must decide whom to trust and how to react to these irrationaly gesticulating men who seek something they show evident disdain for, or at least a lack of respect for. The novel resembles in length and profundity certain of Ismail Kadare's novels. Al-Koni creates a stirring story with an almost-credible protagonist (though this does not seem entirely important here) whose dilemma is heavy and real, though unusually intimate. The solution is mythically dazzling and almost allows one to continue in good cheer despite the ubiquitous current of a slightly victorious greed.

Set in southwestern Libya near Ghat, "The Bleeding of the Stone" is the life story of an isolated Bedouin herdsman. Faced with the absurdities of modern life, herdsman Asouf is forced to examine every aspect of his life and beliefs in deciding how to respond. Testimony to a lifestye rapidly disappearing in Libya and elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East, the protagonist prizes the purity and simplicy of bedouin life and identifies closely with the creatures found in the desert. The first of Ibrahim al-Koni's novels to be translated into English, it is hoped this novel will be followed by many more.