The Rock of Tanios

This book is a terrific example of historical fiction and well deserving of the Prix Goncourt. It contains the two most important aspects of historical fiction. First, great historical fiction must contain a great deal of information on the era and the people in which the story is told. It really must convey the `feel' of the period. This story takes place (primarily) in a Druze village of Lebanon in the early to mid 1800s. You'll learn quite a bit about the complexities of 19th century Lebanese society and the larger scale geopolitical machinations between the French, British, Ottomans, and Egyptians, of which the proto-Lebanese state is caught helplessly in the middle. Second, the story contains a thoughtful tale about human ideals and relationships that is relevant and meaningful today. Maalouf succeeds admirably on both counts. The plot centers around a Druze youth who may or may not be the illegitimate child of the local sheik. This is a story about life's lessons and frustrations, and determining one's role in the world. Without giving too much away, the ending is extremely well done. Tanios (the main character) comes full circle, going from outcast to power broker, and realizes that being at the top isn't all that he thought it would be. Highly recommended.

this novel is complete: history, romance, ethics, drama, comedy. all are present in a superb text with an easy and clear language. it took me to a different world in all its details. it documents for a different trend of life many people want to remember, be it for its misery or its happiness. i strongly recommend it .

I just finished reading this book and, as expected with Maalouf, I was enchanted. It reads like a fairy tale only much closer to reality (at least for myself). All vices from hate to lust are represented with such vivid imagery, The kind of book that makes you reflect after every page.

A wonderfull work by a good writer. Being Lebanese my self, I appreciate the way Amin shows the way of life in Lebanon during the era of Shiks and Emirs. He presented a fiction that addressed the human nature from different prespective: greed, power, ambition, love, respect, revenge, anger, lust, and above all the inner peychological confusion of a kid realising that his father may not be his real father, and all its results. I greatly enjoyed the inclusion of the Lebanese words in the book, though translated into English, you have to be Lebanese to truly feel the meaning. For me also, this fiction shows that the way of life in the Lebanese village's life of the 1800s in its reality still have echos in the daily political life of today's Lebanon.

This book was by all means a gripping one which I didn't put down until the very end.... Maalouf has a sensitive way of producing a combination of romance and reality and one has no way of knowing how much of it is actually contrived...mainly because of Maalouf's convincing. sensitive and confident style. This was a book I really enjoyed reading and I am looking forwarding to reading more of his work.