Two women who do not want to follow their assigned path. A world of legends where trade routes bring merchants from all over the world. Taking place during the Middle Ages, in Comoros´ Itsandra, Le Feu du Milieu by Comoros-born Touhfat Mouhtare is a poetic epos where old legends meet Quranic surahs.
Gaillard is a slave, an orphan dedicating her free time to the Quranic study with her master. Halima is a young independent woman, who opposes an arranged marriage. She and Gaillard to meet, they are soulmates from the depth of time.
Written in the rhythm of an old epos, with a poetic language of the old tales, this book is a fine work of fictional literature. Usually, I struggle to read pure fiction, with a historical/imaginative fiction background, and it took me more than usual to read this book. But I was delighted to be able to finish it, although I may reckon that I need some more details related to Comoros history and mythology that could help me better understand the book, particularly the part where Halima and Gaillard are undergoing several metamorphosis.
Touhfat Mouhtare, who studied languages at Sorbonne, is my first Comoros author and it opened up my interest to read more about the culture, geography, history and especially literature of this space.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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