Translators deserve a place of light in the paradise of readers. What would we do without them, mediators and carriers of meanings and secrets we are unaware of ? There are many ways to praise their work, but telling that our world will be poorer without them is one of it. I am happy to have been discovered in the last years excellent translators whose works I appreciate and follow. Actually, I would read anything they translate, with the same passion I will follow a reader which inspires me. Among them, Sawad Hussain, an exquisite translator of Arabic wor(l)ds.
Without the knowledge of a translator, how could we/me be able to read such an elegant collection of short stories like Catalogue of a Private Life by Najwa Bin Shatwan published at the end of the last year by Dedalus.
Najwa Bin Shatwan is a Libyan academic and novelist, author of four novels. In 2017, she was the first Libyan to ever be shortlisted for the International Prize of Arabic Fiction. In general, Liyban literature is under-represented, before discovering her short stories I was acquainted with only one author: Hisham Matar. Language is definitely a barrier, but as usual, there is always at play a self-suficient neglect of authors and literatures belonging to a realm outside the regular political or social - or even touristic - interest. If a couple of decades ago, Libya was sporadically famous for the excentricities of Muammar al-Gaddafi, after his disappearance and the local/international debacle it seems there is nothing to say about and from Libya.
Catalogue of a Private Life proves though that those anti-literary scales of value are completely wrong. With a highly elegant humour, Bin Shatwan knits together social observations and political misfortunes in stories short but of an unforgettable impact. Think about the tragedy created by a brainless cow who broke a delicate truce simply by walking on the wrong side of the lane. Or the grandmother who caught a burglar in white socks falling from the sky, and while wainting for some news from her son, she impatiently asks: ´Touch the phone. Maybe it´s hot; maybe he just called´.
The characters, like we all, navigate through traditional obligations, religious commandments and political interogations. But as they cannot stop rummaging about their own drama, they may forget paying attention to the potholes on the road.
´(...) how could one call this a homeland when it´s just an airport for missiles?´
The everyday tragi-comical may look unbearable, but arts and literary talent in general helps survival. You need two to tango and an enemy to start a war, and a good short story to understand that, in fact, literary talent is equally distributed among all peoples and nations and a good translator to open your eyes and your literary appetite.
Rating: 5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
No comments:
Post a Comment