by Tyler, P. K.
11. Through your reading of Shadow on the Wall, what were you particularly surprised by? Explain how this book might help to challenge prejudice about Islam and the variety of people who follow Muhammad. What assumptions did you bring to the book? Have they changed?
12. How do the men in the story react to the violence against women? How are they different? How are they the same? In what ways does religion inform their reactions, if at all?
13. Consider the author's unflinching depictions of violence and gender inequality alongside the work of other writers. How does Shadow on the Wall compare to similar themes presented in such disparate works as Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, Laleh Khadivi's Age of Orphans, Neil Gaiman's American Gods, and Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses?
14. Although Tyler's novel illuminates one very specific time and place, her depictions of cultural confinement and corruption can be applied to many other settings. In what ways do you identify personally with the themes and issues in Shadow on the Wall?
15. Discuss the author's unique writing style and refer to passages that are particularly poetic or moving. What does the use of multiple voices contribute to the novel? How would the story be different if it were narrated only through Recai's eyes?
Glossary
• Bey – Turkish prefix for men as in Mr.
• Beyan – Turkish prefix for women as in Mrs.
• Burqa – A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions to cover their bodies in public places. This is often considered one garment which covers hair, bust and eyes.
• But those who wronged among them changed the words to a statement other than that which had been said to them. So we sent upon them a punishment from the sky for the wrong that they were doing. (Surah 7:162, Qu'ran)
• Djinn – An invisible spirit mentioned in the Qu'ran and believed by Muslims to inhabit the earth and influence mankind by appearing in the form of humans or animals. Often correlated to demons or genies in Western mythology.
• Do you then feel secure that He will not cause a side of the land to swallow you up, or that He will not send against you a violent Sandstorm? (Surah 17:68, Qu'ran)
• Effendi – Turkish title given to a man of high social standing or education.
• Egirdir Commando – Fictitious unit of the Turkey Military based on the intense training provident soldiers in the Egirdir Mountain Commando School and Education Center.
• Fatimah – Muhammad's daughter with first wife Khadijah. Wife of Ali and mother of Hasan and Husain. Fatimah is regarded as a loving and devoted daughter, mother, wife, a sincere Muslim, and an exemplar for women. She is reported to have been the confidant and an advisor of her father and husband.
• Fistic – Term of endearment, literally "peanut"
• Golems – From Jewish folklore, an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter.
• Got veren – Turkish insult loosely translated to "ass giver."
• Hajj – Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.
• Halal – Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted. The term is used to designate any object or action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible.
• Hasankeyf – An ancient town and district located along the Tigris River in the Batman Province in southeastern Turkey. Hasankeyf`s origin as a settlement area probably dates back to prehistoric times. The city was the pivot of Turkish culture with its plentiful educational and scientific institutes. It was declared a natural conservation area by Turkey in 1981.
• Hijab – Refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general. The Arabic word translates to "curtain" or "cover." Most Islamic legal systems define this type of modest dressing as covering everything except the face and hands in public. Many divergent views exist about the necessity and definition of hijab.
• In'shallah – Arabic translates to "God willing"
• Inna lillahi wa inna ilahi raji'un – Translates to" "Who, when a misfortune overtakes them, say: 'Surely we belong to Allah and to Him shall we return.'" (Surah 2:156, Qu'ran) This is the phrase that Muslims recite when a person suffers some kind of loss and is usually recited upon hearing the news of someone's death.
• Isha prayer – Last of the five prayer times in a day. This can be performed anytime before dawn the next day but is ideally done before half the night is over.
• Israelite Asiyah – Asiyah was the Israelite wife of the Pharaoh who discovered Moses in the river. Asiyah is said to have worshiped God in secret and praying in disguise fearing her husband. She died while being tortured by her husband, who had discovered her monotheism. According to Hadith, she will be among the first women to enter Paradise because she accepted Moses' monotheism over the Pharaoh's beliefs.
• Jahannam – One of the many names for Hell in Islam. Jahannam refers specifically to the depth of its pit. Descriptions of hell are detailed and full of torture.
• Kahretsin – Turkish for "damn."
• Karakucak – A Turkish folk wrestling style practiced nationwide and sanctioned by the Turkish Wrestling Federation.
• Kum firtinasi – Turkish for "Sandstorm," a strong wind carrying sand particles through the air. They are low level occurrences, usually only ten feet in height not more than fifty feet above the surface. Due to the frequent winds created by surface heating, they are most predominate during the day and die out in the night.
• Laa ela-ha el-lal-la – Arabic for "There is no god but Allah."
• Malik - Malik is known as the angel of hell to Muslims, who recognize Malik as an archangel. Malik is in charge of maintaining Jahannam (hell) and carrying out God's command to punish the people in hell.
• Marussia B2 – Second in a series of coupes built by Marussia Motors. Sporty, high-tech, and elegant, the Marussia B-2 comes with three flat panel touch displays, 420 horsepower, and tops out at over 160mph.
• Masha'Allah – Translates to "as God has willed." This phrase is used when admiring or praising something or someone, in recognition that all good things come from God and are blessings from Him.
• Mecca – Mecca was the birth place of Muhammad and is the most sacred place in Islam. The Ka'ba is a mosque (built by Abraham, according to Muslim tradition) is in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, built around a black stone. The Prophet Muhammad designated Mecca as the holy city of Islam and the direction (qibla) in which all Muslims should offer their prayers.
• Muezzin – A man appointed to call to prayer climbs the mineret of the mosque, and he calls in all directions, "Hasten to prayer." The professional muezzin is chosen for his good character, voice and skills to serve at the mosque; he, however, is not considered a cleric.
• Muslimah – A Muslim woman.
• Niqab – A piece of cloth which covers the face below the eyes worn by some Muslim women as a part of their modest dress.
• Nogai tea – A Turkish drink prepared by boiling milk and tea together with butter, salt and pepper.
• Only an honorable man treats women with honor and integrity. And only a mean, deceitful, and dishonest man humiliates and insults women. (This Hadith is reported by Ibn ‘Asaker)
• Purdah – System of sex segregation, practiced especially by keeping women in seclusion. In some Muslim communities women who are unmarried but have begun puberty are kept in strict seclusion to maintain their purity.
• Qu'ran – Holy Book of Islam is considered the direct word of God as recited by the Prophet Muhammad. The Qu'ran is divided into 114 surahs (sections or chapters of unequal length).
• Quibla – The direction of Mecca from any point in the world.
• Rak'ah – Movements and words
recited during prayer.
• Roma – Ethnic group with origins in Northern India and Romania. Widely referred to as Gypsies.
• Sajdah – Prostration to Allah. The position involves having the forehead, nose, both hands, knees, and all toes touching the ground together.
• Salaam alaikum – Islamic greeting meaning "peace be upon you"
• Saqar – One of the names of Hell (Jahannam) mentioned in the Qu'ran.
• Shalom – Hebrew word meaning peace, completeness, and welfare and can be used to mean both hello and goodbye.
• Shariah law – Islamic Moral Code and Religious Law based on the Qu'ran and example of the Prophet Muhammad's life. Modernists, traditionalists, and fundamentalists all hold different views of sharia, as do adherents to different schools of Islamic thought and scholarship. Different countries, societies and cultures have varying interpretations of sharia as well.
• Shik turban – A garment worn by a man in the Shik religion in keeping with the five articles of faith. The turban is intended as protection for the Tenth Gate or spiritual opening at the top of the head.
• Siktir lan – Translates to "fuck off."
• Taqiyahs – a short, rounded cap worn by some observant Muslim men to emulate the Prophet Muhammad and his companions, who were never seen without their heads covered.
• The Prophet tells us "Let not compassion move you in their case." (Surah 24:2, Qu'ran)
• Ulama - The educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shariah law, but the term is also used to describe the body of Muslim clergy who have completed several years of training and study of Islamic sciences.
• Ululation – A long, wavering, high-pitched lament.
• Ummah – Arabic word for community or nation. Often used to describe the entire Muslim world.
• Walaikum as salaam - The standard response to "salaam alaikum" meaning "And upon you be peace."
• We sent upon them a punishment from the sky for the wrong that they were doing. (Surah 7:160, Qu'ran)
• Zina – Islamic sin of unlawful sexual intercourse, primarily adultery, fornication, having sexual intercourse without being married.
About the Author
Pavarti K Tyler is an artist, wife, mother and number cruncher. She graduated Smith College in 1999 with a degree in Theatre. After graduation, she moved to New York, where she worked as a Dramaturge, Assistant Director and Production Manager on productions both on and off Broadway.
Later, Pavarti went to work in the finance industry as a freelance accountant for several international law firms. She now operates her own accounting firm in the Washington DC area, where she lives with her husband, two daughters and two terrible dogs. When not preparing taxes, she is busy penning her next novel.
Throughout history, literature and the art of story-telling have influenced politics, religion and culture. The power of the epic tale is universal. Why is it that those who never read The Iliad know Helen of Troy? Her story, Homer's story, transcends the written word and has become a part of our human lexicon. The power of the written word is undeniable and Pavarti is honored to be part of the next wave of literary revolution.
You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter or her blog.
www.fightingmonkeypress.com
excerpt from
two moons of Sera
Prologue
Nilafay ran, slipping on the unfamiliar terrain, desperate to reach water. The rocks dug into the thin flesh of her webbed feet, cutting her skin. This place was so foreign despite being only miles from her home. Never had she seen the sun so bright or felt the moisture evaporate directly off her skin; she was sure she would die from the cruelty of the atmosphere.
It was difficult to navigate her way through the wilderness, but now she breathed in the familiar briny scent of home. She licked her lips, seeking relief from the dryness before stepping out of the tree line and onto the rocky beach. The sun overwhelmed her sensitive eyes. She slid thin, clear membranes over her eyes. She had always considered them vestigial, before coming above water to the Erdland.
She moved forward, wincing as the heat of the sun burned her delicate forehead. Her irises retracted and for a moment she was blinded, but she could smell and taste the salt in the air, leading her to the water. The rest of Nilafay's senses were on high alert, her eardrums straining to feel the vibrations of distant voices.
Frantic to reach the surf, she slipped and ripped open her shin. She bit down on her lip, refusing to cry out or shed a tear. She was done crying. Nilafay heard them calling from further back in the forest; the hunters who had seduced her with offers of friendship and a world unlike any she had seen before. They were closing in, the creatures they commanded following her scent, leading their masters closer. She shivered at the memory of their strange hair covered bodies. At first she had been intrigued by the animals with the eyes of men, but when she learned that they were there not to befriend her but to guard and cage her she resented their tracking gaze.
Nilafay stood and resumed her pitch toward the coast line, pressing through the throbbing in her leg. The sensitive myomere muscles of her body were unaccustomed to impact injury. The hunters approached the tree line noisily, making no attempt to hide their arrival. She dropped to her knees. Her iridescent white flesh shone in the morning sun, its lack of pigment reflecting the bright light beating down on her. The rocky beach offered no asylum.
The men grew louder, closer with each passing moment, speaking their gruff language. She understood only a few words. But what she did understand terrified her: "net, experiment, animal, project, cage..."
Please, just let me get to the water…
16 Years Later
The sand softened my impact when I landed; jumping from the tree I'd used to climb over the rock wall separating my home from the outside world. I released a shaky breath. I'd ventured further out into the forest today, further than I would have if my mother had been around. Without her here I didn't bother sneaking back in like usual. I'd spent the day exploring as much as I wanted, and I longed to know about everything outside the small cove I lived in.
I'd never been beyond the mountain range overshadowing our home; only through the forest leading south toward the villages. The danger of discovery, or worse, capture, kept me from going too far. I didn't know what would happen if the Erdlanders found us. My mother's stories about needles and tests and tortures from before I was born were enough to keep me on a tight leash.
The water beyond the cove led north, into the ocean; where the Sualwet people lived. My mother's people. We were refugees from that world, too. They exiled her, because of me.
My world held me tightly, like too-small clothing which refused to adjust as you grew. I was stifled and frustrated and lately I found I wanted to venture further, risking capture if only for a glimpse of an Erdlander. Mother said they had hair on their heads like me and some even had it on their faces. They walked like us and spoke words as we did, although the language was different. They didn't have gills and didn't absorb oxygen through their skin and they used their mouths to breathe. I wasn't like them and I wasn't like my mother's people. I was an anomaly, an accident of science, not supposed to exist. But my mother's escape from her prison before my birth meant I was here, alone on the shore.
"Serafay!" My mother called emerging from the water in time to see me walk out from the tree line. Her frown gave away her displeasure but she'd returned from scavenging with treasures to show me.
"Mother!" I waved my hand before reaching behind me and pulling my long chestnut hair into a knot.
"Always playing with that hair."
"Just because you don't have any doesn't mean you should be so jealous." I teased.
She laughed.
I splashed into the water so I could help carry the bags she dragged behind her.
"These were a lot lighter underwater."
"Give me on
e." I offered, holding out my hand to take some of her burden.
"No, you'll cheat and look." Her mock scowl was playful as she pretended to hold the bags protectively from me.
"Fine then, carry them yourself!" I dove under the surface and kicked off, letting the thin webbing between my toes capture the water and propel me forward.
I loved being underwater, the weightlessness of it surrounded and held me. The shallow cove was wide and I could swim out quite far before the ocean floor dropped off and I was in open sea. The call of the expanse was hard to deny but I couldn't go out today. It made my mother worry, like everything else, and I was anxious to see what she had brought home.
I could stay underwater for hours, as long as there was oxygen in one form or another, and I longed to lose myself in the sea. Eventually, I needed to resurface and use my lungs but the time I stole in the darkness of submersion soothed my dry skin and my lonely heart. Breaking the surface, a thin membrane, a gift from my mother's genetics, closed over my eyes protecting them from the sun's intense light. I paddled back to the shore in time to help her heave the bags up to the rock and cloth enclosure we called home.
The fire in our makeshift hearth had died, so I used the fire stone we'd salvaged in another treasure hunt to light a spark. I tried to be patient while Mother pulled a loose shift over her head, the thin cloth hanging down to her knees. We found or made most of our clothing, in keeping with the loose-fitting Erdlander style. Underwater people wore very little and what they did wear was always tight. It looked so uncomfortable to me. Mother said it helped her swim faster. I always swam naked because the fabric of clothes impeded my movement.
The makeshift home we'd built on the cove was comfortable. We had the supplies we needed and hammocks hanging between the sparse trees to sleep in. Recently, I had even separated the space into rooms, using the taut-weighted cloth the Sualwet used as walls underwater. Mother had scavenged it from an abandoned home. Further back, a small cave in the rocky incline offered us shelter when we needed it, but we both preferred to stay outside.