A gripping historical novel set in 11th century Persia, about the poet and philosopher Omar Khayyam.
Winner of the Prix de Maisons de la Presse, this novel tells the history of Omar Khayyam's "Rubaiyaat" from its creation by the poet in the 11th-century to its loss when the Titanic sank in 1912. It also describes Khayyam's life, including his love for the poetess Jahan.
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Summary
A gripping historical novel set in 11th century Persia, about the poet and philosopher Omar Khayyam.
Winner of the Prix de Maisons de la Presse, this novel tells the history of Omar Khayyam's "Rubaiyaat" from its creation by the poet in the 11th-century to its loss when the Titanic sank in 1912. It also describes Khayyam's life, including his love for the poetess Jahan.
Description
Accused of mocking the inviolate codes of Islam, the Persian poet and sage Omar Khayyam fortuitously finds sympathy with the very man who is to judge his alleged crimes. Recognising genuis, the judge decides to spare him and gives him instead a small, blank book, encouraging him to confine his thoughts to it alone.
Thus beginds the seamless blend of fact and fiction that is Samarkand. Vividly re-creating the history of the manuscript of the Rubaiyaat of Omar Khayyam, Amin Maalouf spans continents and centuries with breathtaking vision: the dusky exoticism of 11th-century Persia, with its poetesses and assassins; the same country's struggles nine hundred years later, seen through the eyes of an American academic obsessed with finding the original manuscript ; and the fated maiden voyage of the Titanic, whose tragedy led to the Rubaiyaat's final resting place - all are brought to life with keen assurance by this gifted and award-winning writer.Critic Reviews
“Maalouf's fiction offers both a model for the future and a caution, a way towards cultural understanding and a appalling measure of the consequences of failure. His is a voice which Europe cannot afford to ignore.”
Maalouf's descriptions of the courts, the bazaar, the lives of mystics, kings and lovers are woven into an evocative and languid prose...and extraordinary book - INDEPENDENT
An example of the best type of historical fiction - TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENTMaalouf's fiction offers both a model for the future and a caution, a way towards cultural understanding and a appalling measure of the consequences of failure. His is a voice which Europe cannot afford to ignore. - The GuardianAbout the Author
Amin Maalouf is a Lebanese journalist and writer. He has served as a director of the weekly international edition of the leading Beirut dail an-Nahar, and editor in chief of Jeune Afrique. He lives in Paris with his wife and three children.
Accused of mocking the inviolate codes of Islam, the Persian poet and sage Omar Khayyam fortuitously finds sympathy with the very man who is to judge his alleged crimes. Recognising genuis, the judge decides to spare him and gives him instead a small, blank book, encouraging him to confine his thoughts to it alone.Thus beginds the seamless blend of fact and fiction that is Samarkand. Vividly re-creating the history of the manuscript of the Rubaiyaat of Omar Khayyam, Amin Maalouf spans continents and centuries with breathtaking vision: the dusky exoticism of 11th-century Persia, with its poetesses and assassins; the same country's struggles nine hundred years later, seen through the eyes of an American academic obsessed with finding the original manuscript ; and the fated maiden voyage of the Titanic, whose tragedy led to the Rubaiyaat's final resting place - all are brought to life with keen assurance by this gifted and award-winning writer.
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