The Ardent Swarm, Yamen Manai

 

The Ardent Swarm by Yamen Manai hit my eye when I was looking at books by non-American authors.

Started: 7/13/2022
Completed: 7/29/2022
Recommendation: Mild Recommendation
Recommended By: A list of non-English speaking authors whose books were being translated into English

Review:

Pretty much everything is unresolved in this book.  This is a sort of slice of pastoral life in an imagined village in Africa.  The contrast between the "city folk" and the "country folk" seems to have a little bit of "city mouse, country mouse" in it, but it is also a contrast between styles of religious adherence.   As a slice of life, I don't feel like I understand what it is like to live in North Africa any better, but that may be too large a task.  There is supposed to be an allegorical component of the story, but I am too thick to see it except in its most basic forms.  I cannot say I enjoyed it particularly, but there are parts that are compelling and the life of Sidi is certainly interesting.