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The Dark Side of Love

Page 1

by Rafik Schami




  Table of Contents

  Praise

  Title Page

  Dedication

  BOOK OF LOVE I - Olive trees and answers both need time.

  1. The Question

  BOOK OF DEATH I - Questions are the children of freedom.

  2. A Body in the Basket

  3. Police Commissioner Barudi

  4. In the Jungle

  5. Mansur

  6. Colonel Badran and the Course of Events

  BOOK OF LOVE II - Love is poverty that makes you rich.

  7. The Fire

  8. Strangers

  9. Rapprochement

  10. The End of Childhood

  11. An Obstacle

  12. In Love

  13. Scruples

  14. Atonement

  15. Suspicion

  BOOK OF LOVE III - Women are like elm trees, beating them does no good.

  16. Sarka’s Laughter

  17. Laila’s Decision

  18. Laila and the Madman

  19. Hyenas

  20. Sarka’s Fever

  21. The Elm Tree

  BOOK OF THE CLAN I - Arab clans and pyramids ignore the passing of time.

  22. The Gulf

  23. Elias Leaves

  24. A Reception

  25. The Novice

  26. How Mushtak Won Honour

  27. Weddings

  28. The Transformation of Elias

  29. Loneliness

  30. Arson

  31. Nasibe

  32. Adnan’s Revenge

  33. Flight

  34. Defeat of the Master of the House

  35. Samira and Shams

  BOOK OF THE CLAN II - The clan saved the Arabs from the desert, and at the same ...

  36. Jasmin and Mariam

  37. Samia

  38. Fifty-One and One

  39. The Struggle

  40. Faris the Patient

  41. Musa and Hasib

  42. End of a Hope

  43. Butros and Samuel

  44. A Mother’s Lament

  45. Amira

  46. The Opportunity

  47. Shaklan’s Birthday Party

  48. Dethroned

  49. Salman

  50. Ismail

  BOOK OF THE CLAN III - Love is a wildcat with nine lives

  51. Lucia and Nagib

  52. Tamam and Sarkis

  53. The Rift and the Meeting

  54. Purgatory and Paradise

  55. Beirut, or Deliverance

  56. Autumnal Atmosphere

  57. An Unholy Alliance

  58. The Lightness of Love

  59. Mirages and Oases

  60. Water In A Sieve

  61. Pangs of Conscience

  62. Practice

  BOOK OF LOVE IV - At the moment of love there’s no place for a strange woman

  63. Disturbances

  64. Sheikh Napoleon

  65. Laila

  BOOK OF GROWTH I - Caterpillars dream of flying.

  66. Childhood

  67. Grandparents

  68. Love

  69. K.O.

  70. Temptation

  71. An Oasis Called Antoinette

  72. The Hammam

  73. The Gang

  74. Boxing

  75. At the Barber’s

  76. Cats and Bandits

  77. A Series of Coups

  78. The Alley

  79. An Angel’s Weak Point

  80. A Message

  81. Going to the Movies

  82. The Short Memory of Chickens

  83. The Devil’s Daughters

  84. Secrets

  85. Death

  86. On the Rooftops

  87. Forbidden Reading

  88. The Photograph

  89. The Inventor

  90. Laila’s New House

  91. Grandfather’s Death

  92. Going to Church

  93. Saying Goodbye

  BOOK OF LAUGHTER I - The world of the imagination welcomes children more kindly ...

  94. Damascus

  95. The Cat-Lover

  96. The Scooter

  97. Hashish

  98. The Photographer

  99. Suleiman and the Chickens

  100. Sugar Dollies

  101. Quo Vadis?

  102. Jokers

  103. Superstition

  104. Grandfather’s Glasses

  105. Gibran

  106. Salma and St. John

  107. When the Tram Stopped

  108. Children’s Games

  109. Festival of Sacrifice

  110. Riding a Bicycle

  111. Maaruf Directing Traffic

  112. Raining Sugar-Coated Fennel Seeds

  113. Grandfather’s Salt

  BOOK OF LONELINESS I - Loneliness is death’s twin brother.

  114. The Journey

  115. Tanios and Asma

  116. Elopement

  117. The Gate

  118. The Tonsure

  119. The First Night

  120. Summer Days

  121. Joan of Arc

  122. Nights in Autumn

  123. The Inquisitor

  124. A Shipwrecked Sailor

  125. Silence

  126. Rebels

  127. An Excursion

  128. The Syrian Brothers

  129. Discord

  130. Epilepsy

  131. Spiritual Welfare

  132. Fire and Water

  133. Claire’s Second Visit

  134. The Sufferings of the Christians

  135. Matta

  136. Brother Nicholas

  137. Spectres by Night

  138. Drifting Apart

  139. Encounters

  140. Matta Runs Away

  141. Punishment

  142. Marcel

  143. Farewell

  144. A Lioness

  145. Going Back

  BOOK OF GROWTH II - He who reads books in spite of school will become a master.

  146. Coming Home

  147. Josephine

  148. Matta’s Ordeal

  149. Rana

  150. Three Days of Dreams Come True

  151. Laila

  152. Women Visiting

  153. Saki’s Flight

  154. Turmoil

  155. Suleiman and Lamia

  156. Indian Movies

  157. Gibran the Sailor

  158. The Club

  159. Amin

  160. Hakawati of the Night

  161. Wars Large and Small

  162. Backgammon

  163. Nourishment

  164. The End of a Dream

  165. Training

  166. The President’s Jacket

  167. Gibran’s Love

  168. Alone

  169. Women Helping Out

  170. Rasuk and Elizabeth

  171. The Debts of Venice

  172. Paths Crossing

  173. The State of God

  174. The Trap

  175. The Prayer

  176. Hunter and Hunted

  177. The Wine Cellar

  178. Masculine Honour

  179. Listening to Films

  180. Fatima and Josef

  BOOK OF LAUGHTER II - Faith seldom moves mountains, but superstition moves ...

  181. Nerves

  182. Azar’s Machines

  183. A Women’s Meeting

  184. A Little Worm

  185. Crazy Hours

  186. The Oath

  187. Of Cats and Clever Women

  188. Matta’s Fiancée

  189. The Night of Jokes

  BOOK OF LOVE V - Happiness often lies in delaying misfortune.

  190. The Man Who Saw With His Ears

  191. Karim
e

  192. Breathless

  193. Moon Woman

  BOOK OF HELL I - If we are to respect the freedom of others we must first ...

  194. Lilo

  195. Interrogation

  196. The Forecourt of Hell

  197. Said

  198. The Chinese

  199. The Children of Job

  200. The Power of Words

  201. The Rift

  202. The False Martyr

  203. The Chemistry of Isolation

  204. Salto Vitale

  BOOK OF LOVE VI - Love lives only in the memory but it needs oblivion too.

  205. A Bus Ride

  206. Josef’s Promise

  207. Dunia and the Bedroom Woman

  208. Late Enlightenment

  209. Spring in Autumn

  BOOK OF GROWTH III - Courage kills and so does cowardice.

  210. Josef’s Injury

  211. Gibran’s Return

  212. Matta’s Wedding

  213. Hegel in Damascus

  214. Coincidence

  215. One Of Us

  216. “Youth”

  217. Love of the Eunuchs

  218. An Icy Spring

  219. The Fair

  220. Treasure Hunting

  BOOK OF LAUGHTER III - Both chemical factories and dictators contaminate their surroundings.

  221. Fasting in Space

  222. Munir’s Father

  223. Paradise

  BOOK OF GROWTH IV - A dictator lives not on earth but in his head.

  224. The Problem of Brothers

  225. Goodbye

  226. Beginnings

  227. First Signs

  228. Radicals

  229. A Meeting

  230. Song of the Cicadas

  231. Sharifa

  232. Illusion

  233. Women’s Views

  234. Sobering Up

  235. Laila’s Night

  236. Drinking the Rainbow

  237. The Mental Hospital

  238. Sabri and Rachel

  239. Despair

  240. In Flight

  241. Lonely Night

  BOOK OF LAUGHTER IV - He who sows suspicion reaps traitors.

  242. Poetry

  243. Adding Up the Truth

  BOOK OF HELL II - Those who come to Tad are lost. Those who leave Tad are reborn.

  244. The Way to Golgotha

  245. Reception

  246. Nagi

  247. Garasi

  248. Loyalty and Recantation

  249. At Night

  250. The Quarry

  251. Dawn

  252. Milhelm

  253. Darwish

  254. Solitary Confinement

  255. Time Drags By

  256. Alphabet of Humanity

  257. Autumn

  258. Development Aid

  259. Helplessness

  260. Silence

  261. The Guardian Angel

  262. The Rising

  263. The End of the Tunnel

  264. Last Attempt

  265. Victory

  266. The End of Garasi

  267. Nabil

  268. The Cold Voice

  269. Mahdi’s Arrival

  270. At Close Quarters

  271. The Cold Hand of Fear

  272. The Injection

  BOOK OF LAUGHTER V - Laughter breaks and enters, opening mouths, hearts, and wounds.

  273. My Mother Says

  BOOK OF GROWTH V - Presidents come and go, but the records on file remain.

  274. Bulos

  275. Metamorphosis

  276. The Ransom

  277. Cold Sharper Than a Razorblade

  278. The Visit

  BOOK OF LONELINESS II - Love is the only sickness whose victims don’t want a cure.

  279. In the House of Sparrows

  280. First Report

  281. On a Distant Island

  282. Hanna Bishara

  283. Mother

  284. Liking

  285. An Outing

  286. Brightly Coloured Birds

  287. Second Report

  288. Opening Up

  289. Two Doctors and One Patient

  290. Third Report

  291. Kisses

  292. Fourth Report

  BOOK OF BUTTERFLIES - When a butterfly first sees the light it forgets ...

  293. Suspicion

  294. Out of the Cocoon

  295. The Wound and the Trap

  296. Rana’s Revenge

  297. The Flight of the Butterflies

  298. The Reckoning

  BOOK OF LOVE VII - Those who are loved do not die.

  299. Arrival

  300. The Answer

  BOOK OF DEATH II - Truth is a jewel whose owner is rich and lives dangerously.

  301. Rumours

  302. Persistence

  303. An Undignified Departure

  BOOK OF COLOUR - The loveliest of all colours is the secret colour of words.

  304. The Last Piece in the Mosaic

  Copyright Page

  PRAISE FOR The Dark Side of Love

  ‘At last, the Great Arab Novel – appearing without ifs, buts, equivocations, metaphorical camouflage or hidden meanings. Schami’s book is exceptional not only in the scope of his ambition, but also in its ability to juggle a vast cast of characters in a complex structure. Despite its length, the book is a compulsive read.’

  – The Independent

  ‘The picture of Syrian life and recent history is the great strength of this novel. Schami would not have achieved it without considerable skill… With its feuds, lovers, murders, villains and assorted heroes and heroines, this is a novel to enjoy and to ponder.’

  – Washington Times

  ‘In The Dark Side of Love, Rafik Schami exploits all the resources of the classic realist novel and then goes a little further, forging a new form out of Syrian orality…Schami’s Mala is on a par with Márquez’s Macondo for colour and resonance. The Dark Side of Love illumines almost every side of love, as well as fear, longing, cruelty and lust. Darkness and light alternate like the basalt and marble stripes on Damascene walls, and the novel’s structure is just as strong. A book like this requires a less limiting title. I suggest something as expansive, as comprehensive, as War and Peace.’

  – The Guardian

  ‘In Anthea Bell’s deft, witty translation, each of Schami’s 853 pages and 304 chapters is a pleasure to read.’

  – The Observer

  ‘Anthea Bell’s translation is…remarkable, sure-handed and lapse-free. Schami is a wonderful storyteller.’

  – The Nation

  ‘…a joyous book…Schami, a major international talent, has a broad range, from the scatological to the sexually comic to the painful’

  – Publishers Weekly

  ‘A masterpiece! A marvel of prose that mixes myths, tales, legends, and a wonderful love story…’

  – Die Zeit

  CONDITIONS OF SALE

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchase.

  For two great women,

  Hanne Joakim and Root Leeb

  FAMILY TREE OF THE SHAHIN CLAN

  FAMILY TREE OF THE MUSHTAK CLAN

  BOOK OF LOVE I

  Olive trees and answers both need time.

  DAMASCUS, SPRING 1960

  1. The Question

  “Do you really think our love stands any chance?”

  Farid asked this question not to remi
nd Rana of the blood feud between their families, but because he was feeling wretched and could see no hope.

  Three days ago his friend Amin had been picked up as he left home and taken away by the secret police. Witch-hunts against communists had been in progress ever since the union of Syria and Egypt in the spring of 1958, and 1959 was a particularly bad year. President Satlan had made irate and inflammatory speeches denouncing communists and the Iraqi dictator Damian’s regime. There was no let-up as the year drew to its close; jeeps raced down the streets of the capital even by night carrying victims of the secret service. Their families were left weeping with fear. Tales were told of the bloodshed on New Year’s Eve. Rumours went from mouth to mouth, creating even more fear of the secret service, which seemed to have its informers in every home.

  Love seemed to Farid a luxury that day. He had spent a few hours with Rana in his dead grandmother’s house, undisturbed. Here in Damascus, every meeting with her was an oasis in the desert of his loneliness. Very different from those weeks in Beirut, where they had hidden eight years ago. There, every day began and ended in Rana’s arms. There, love had been a wide and gentle river landscape.

  His grandmother’s house hadn’t been sold yet. Claire, his mother, had given him the key that morning. “But your underpants had better stay on,” she laughed.

  The sun was shining, but it was a bitterly cold day. Musty damp met him as he entered the house. He opened the windows, letting fresh air in, and finally lit the stoves in the kitchen and bedroom. Farid hated nothing more than the smell of damp, cold stagnation.

  When Rana arrived just before twelve, the stoves were already red-hot. “Was it at your grandmother’s house we were going to meet, or in the hammam?” she joked.

  As always, she was enchantingly beautiful, but he couldn’t shake off a sense of impending danger. While he kissed her, he thought of the Indian who sought safety from a flood on a rooftop and slowly sank to a watery death. Farid clung to his lover like a drowning man. Her heart beat against his chest.

 

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