Jola's Reviews > Arabesques

Arabesques by Anton Shammas
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really liked it
bookshelves: israel, palestine

It is astounding how deftly Anton Shammas translates the form of arabesque into the language of literature. The way he tells the history of his Palestinian family resembles an arabesque indeed, with its complexity, swiftly spiralling motifs, interlacing stories within stories and the swirling structure. Besides, arabesques are seamless and neverending — so is this labyrinthine novel with its open structure.

Besides, arabesques are mentioned a few times in the book, for instance: Uncle Yusef, in his great cunning, gives me a tiny key to use to find my way through the winding chambers of the arabesque, where I stand at the gate, ajar, behind which lies another story that will invent itself in a different way. The author delves into the philosophical aspect of arabesques also — the narrator’s life is compared to this form of artistic oriental decoration: Now that my life has followed the course of this winding arabesque, I find myself once more at the place where I started. There are many more recurring symbolic images in Arabesques (1986), subtly interwoven into the story, for instance, smoke.

Arabesque is also a ballet position in which the dancer stands on one foot and holds one arm forward while the other arm and leg are held out behind. I have the impression this is reflected in the novel too: the narrator is reaching back to the past, grappling with the memories of a few generations of his ancestors, and forward at the same time. A part of his book deals with history (The Tale) but there is also an account of what is happening now (The Teller). To be honest, I found the narrator's current adventures at the International Writing Program retreat much less engaging than the family saga.

There is also a metafiction undercurrent plus many literary references. Anton Shammas's book oftentimes feels like a delicious, baffling mixture of A Thousand and One Nights, Borges and Proust. In Arabesques not cookies but plants frequently trigger memories and evoke forgotten emotions, for example, flowers of yellow calycanthus or olive husks: I see myself at the entrance to the olive press. I can smell the olive husks from the distance of many years. It is a thick smell that warmly embraces your senses and then withdraws when a breeze blows touched with the edge of autumn. There are so many voluptuous descriptions in Arabesques which immediately engage all your senses. Thanks to Maryana’s brilliant comment I realized that arabesque is also a music term, referring to a meandering intricate melody built around circling phrases. This novel is exactly like that!

In the beginning, Anton Shammas declares: I’ll write about the loneliness of the Palestinian Arab Israeli, which is the greatest loneliness of all. He keeps his promise. His novel is a story of futile efforts to belong while being always 'the other', 'the foreigner', always in between: countries, religions, cultures. Even the words Palestinian Arab Israeli sound like a farfetched oxymoron but this is exactly who the narrator and his ancestors were.

Despite the many strengths of this novel — and I have only discussed the ones which especially stand out in my view — it was not a reading experience I am likely to repeat. As I tend to be a capricious reader and may change my mind, a note to self, just in case: draw the family tree while reading. The number of characters in this book is overwhelming and the constant feeling of befuddlement was irksome and frustrating in the long run. Just to give you an idea: five different characters are called Anton Shammas. I hoped Afterword by Elias Khoury would be helpful but besides admitting he felt confused also and discreetly promoting his own book he did not offer much enlightenment. I am aware that this is a labyrinthine novel and my feeling of being lost was exactly what the author was aiming at but it annoyed me anyway. I enjoyed and appreciated Arabesques but it is rather love out of convenience, not spontaneous, passionate enchantment.

Anton Shammas's novel is truly impressive in scope and structure. The information that the afterword was originally written for a conference on Arabesques at the University of Michigan in 2010 startled me a bit at first. The whole conference devoted solely to one obscure book? After having read this multilayered, ambitious, kaleidoscopic novel, which can be approached from so many angles, I am no longer surprised.


Arabesque 11, painting by Shah Nawaz.
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Reading Progress

August 1, 2020 – Shelved
August 1, 2020 – Shelved as: to-read
February 13, 2023 – Started Reading
February 20, 2023 –
20.0% "Uncle Yusef used to say, It is better for a story not to be told, for once it is, it is like a gate that has been left ajar."
March 2, 2023 –
27.0% "From a tale that was apparently drawing to an end, a new unruly thread shoots out and turns the tale in a startling direction."
March 4, 2023 –
41.0% "If I were the chambermaid’s husband, I would have divorced her ages ago for the way she places the toilet paper. [...] As Amichai would say, there are two kinds of people in the world, the p’s who set a roll of toilet paper so that it unwinds outward and the q’s who turn it inward toward the wall. I am of the former persuasion. The chambermaid and my wife do not realize that they share a disgraceful habit."
March 11, 2023 – Finished Reading
April 1, 2023 – Shelved as: israel
April 1, 2023 – Shelved as: palestine

Comments Showing 1-12 of 12 (12 new)

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message 1: by Maryana (new)

Maryana Looking forward to your thoughts on this, dear Jola! Although I know that arabesque is a kind of motifs and patterns, my first association is with Debussy! ♪


Jola Dear Maryana, I've just begun so it's hard to tell but I must say the first few pages appealed to me. Thanks so much for the musical reference! Sounds wonderful and I'll investigate if it's somehow reflected in this novel. My associations with the title were visual only and exactly like yours.


message 3: by David (new)

David What a wonderful review, Jola. I only know of the visual arabesques so I have learned something. Plus the book sounds very good,


message 4: by Paula (new)

Paula Mota I loved the imagery that you conveyed in this review, dear Jola. Such a delicate text! As I have the hardest time with names, I confess that I always appreciate a nice family tree.


Jola Dear David, thanks a bunch. I was surprised to find out that there were attempts to transplant arabesque into literature in the past, for example Arabesques by Gogol and Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque: Edgar Allan Poe (Horror and Suspense Novel, Classical Literature) Annotated by Poe which I'd love to read someday. The music tropes sound fascinating also.


message 6: by Jola (last edited Apr 01, 2023 10:06PM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

Jola Dear Paula, I appreciate your generous comment. The imagery is Anton Shammas's merit, his imagination and ability to transform mental pictures into words are breathtaking. The abundance of characters drove me crazy, and a little throng of the author's namesakes made it even more challenging, especially given the fact that the story was nonlinear and you were never sure which Anton Shammas is in the limelight at the moment. I know he probably intended to show the continuity of his family and nation's experiences but it didn't help my frustration.


message 7: by Gopa (new)

Gopa Thampi Thank you, Jola for this interesting and insightful review. Taking a cue from your reflections, I am wondering if the term 'arabesque' simply profiles the character of a particular narrative style or, conveys a deeper philosophical and political intent. Especially, the emphasis on the non-linear, continuous, and perspective-shifting nature of the form (art and literature). I am also wondering if 'arabesque' did fall into the same cultural trap as 'orientalism' - the early American and European examples of arabesque in literary avatars certainly emphasized the macabre and the repulsive.

At the risk of being completely off the mark for making an uninformed comment without having read the book, I am wondering if Anton Shammas created all these multitude of characters to perhaps prove the point that history (personal and beyond) is also polyvocal, open-ended and subject to embellishment. And in a region (Palestine) where histories and identities are contested, erased and reimagined constantly, I am wondering if the 'Arabesques', is perhaps an attempt to blend a political intent with a literary voice.

Apologies for making all these audacious comments solely based on your thoughtful review. But I promise to make amends by actually reading the book:).


message 8: by Jola (last edited Apr 04, 2023 05:33AM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

Jola Thanks so much for your thought-provoking, insightful comment, Gopa. I was thrilled to find out that you are considering reading this shapeshifting, intriguing novel! A brilliant remark about Arabesques being an attempt to blend a political intent with a literary voice, that is exactly my impression after having read this book.

I think the structure of arabesque is reflected not only in the narration, I would say it is one of the interpretation keys to the philosophical and political message of this novel at the same time. To be honest, I haven't noticed any traces of artificial and superfluous 'orientalism', I found this book much more sincere and profound.

Your interpretation of the multitude of characters is top notch. I have the impression the author wanted to prove the point that history (personal and beyond) is also polyvocal, open-ended, as you brilliantly put it! I was aware of Anton Shammas's intent although wasn't able to express it as eloquently as you have just done. Despite the strong suspicion that my confusion was exactly what the author wanted to achieve, I felt frustrated not being sure who was who. If there is next time, I'll just sit back and relax, concentrating on more interesting aspects of this novel or will make detailed notes from page one. 🙂


message 9: by Ilse (new)

Ilse Dear Jola, as the word Arabesques immediately sends me back to ballet classes decades ago, dance is the first association that comes to my mind ( like music is for Maryana) and so your first paragraphs of your eloquent, profound and sensuous review almost made me add the book :). The multiple Anton Shammasses reminded me of the 17 Aureliano's and the other recurring family names over the generations in Marquez One Hundred Years of Solitude - polyvocal history as Gopa and you discussed so insightfully indeed.


message 10: by Gopa (new)

Gopa Thampi Interestingly, the latest (April 2023) issue of the NYRB carries a review of Arabesques by Ruth Margalit (Goodreads is not allowing me to post the link to the article) which places the tale (Arabesque) and the teller (Shammas) in a more revealing personal and political context.

Two strands in the review stood out for me. One, alluding to the polyvocality of the characters - unreliable and often contradictory - the reviewer writes: "....yet the effect of all this uncertainty isn’t the usual postmodern absence of truth. Rather, it is something more attuned to how collective memory takes hold within the family. Every version of the story recounts it at a slight remove. This only heightens the sense of an oral tradition, of errors and ellipses, of tales that have been rolled over and smoothed out over the years, like the workings of time on a stone. The other was on using language as a tool of subversion. Ruth Margalit writes: Language for him is not merely political, then, as the cliché has it. It is perhaps the most powerful—and potentially corruptive—instrument an individual may wield. And, thanks Ilse for that wonderful reminder to Marquez's 17 Aureliano's. One wonders whether magic realism and arabesque can be seen as creative attempts to move the needle of historical narratives from the organized and neat linear trajectories to the messy terrains of lived experiences.

I can't wait to lay my hands on this book!


message 11: by Jola (new) - rated it 4 stars

Jola Dear Ilse, I appreciate your generous comment a lot. I think Anton Shammas deserves congratulations on having selected such a meaningful dominant trope for his novel — our different associations are living proof that it was a brilliant choice. Oddly, the plethora of Aurelianos didn't bother me much but I might not be objective — One Hundred Years of Solitude happens to be one of my all-time favourite books. 🙂


message 12: by Jola (new) - rated it 4 stars

Jola Dear Gopa, thanks so much for the information on Ruth Margalit's review. It's enlightening, helpful and mesmerizing at the same time. I loved it! I especially enjoyed the passages on the linguistic aspects of the novel and its translation. I found Shammas's imagery a bit too baroque for my liking and now it turns out that the translator simplified it. 🙂 I wish I could read the original version of Arabesques: according to Ruth Margalit, to read Shammas solely in English is akin to staring at a postcard of a landscape one cannot travel to. Gone is the novel’s formal inventiveness, the thrilling sense that Shammas has managed to accomplish something with Hebrew that no other novelist had before. Nonetheless, I'm in awe of the job the translator did, given how complex this novel is. And I definitely wouldn't say that the novel’s formal inventiveness is gone, quite the contrary! I was deeply impressed by it although I read the English version.

I have already printed out Ruth Margalit's brilliant review and will keep it for future reference, in case I decide to give Arabesques another try. Again, thanks so much! And I hope you will be able to read this novel soon. Certainly, I will be thrilled to read your thoughts on it afterwards.


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