هناك اعمال ادبية لا تنسى ...هكذا هو تصنيفها

ببساطة لان اخر مرة تملكت فيها رواية "الزينى بركات" فى يدى فى ظل قاعة القراءة فى مكتبة عامة كان منذ 8 سنوات...فكيف تفسر اذا انى اذكر تفاصيلها بهذا الوضوح بينما اجاهد فى تذكر ذلك الكتاب الذى قرأته من 3 شهور

الزينى بركات رواية للزمن...تعاد تفاصيلها مرة تلو الاخرى من حولك فى دهشة للرأى...تذكرها ايام الثورة...تذكرها عند اقتحام امن الدولة..و اتذكرها الان

ربما السبب ان الغيطانى يثبت لك ان مصر هى سلسلة كاملة من الاحداث و اعادة الاحداث ...اننا لسنا وحدنا فى هذا الزمن و ان اشباح الماضى من شخصيات عانت مثلنا تماما مرت من هنا

و يمر على قول هيجل:"الحقيقة الوحيدة التي نتعلمها من التاريخ هي: ( ان لا احد يتعلم من التاريخ"! ....هكذا ببساطة

فكونك تقرأ "الزينى بركات" لا يزودك فقط بحبكة ادبية ممتعه او تلاعب رائع بالخطوط الدرامية ....بل يطمئنك ان هذا البلد كان دائما قادرا على دحر خصومة و ربما يمنحك الامل...او يجعلك تطلقها اخيرا: واضح ان مفيش فايدة من زمااان قوى
:D
( )

"That's how it is done; the whole of creation is ordered in such a way that not a single good deed or a single bad deed goes unrecorded."

This book is set in Cairo in the early 16th century, at the time the city was beginning to come under the influence of the Ottoman Empire. It is loosely based on an actual historic character, Zayni Barakat, who became muhtasib of Cairo, a position of much power. During his more than 20 year reign, he was a controversial figure, and has been described as both fair and reasonable, and as a brutal torturer. This book, however, is primarily fictional.

I found the book to be dense and difficult to read and comprehend at times. It is narrated by several people, including a religious student, an emir, and a Venetian trader. Sometimes the story is advanced through the device of village gossip by characters who never appear again. These villagers, of which there are many, all have Arabic names which are difficult to keep track of and which (to me at least) could be confused with the names of the important characters. The prose, perhaps in the interest of authenticity, sometimes approaches the florid language of the messages that have been received from Osama bin Ladin over the years.

The book is interesting as it describes the network of spies who all report to different individuals with various relative degrees of power. Each of these many leaders is trying to track the actions and statements of all the others in positions of power or seeking positions of power. In that aspect, the book has been described as an allegory of life in Egypt in the present day (or at least until several weeks ago).

I'm glad I read this book, but I'm sure quite a bit of it went over my head. I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in the subject and who is willing to devote some time to it. A familiarity with Egyptian history would also be helpful. ( )