Migration / Distance

I'm not quite at the suggested point of the book yet, so I'm going to have to comment on another aspect of it.

I completely relate to the nameless narrator and the way Salih articulates his return to his childhood home adds to the distance I feel within this character.  I am almost taken by his narration, as it hits close to home.

There is a vast distance between what probably influenced the narrator's travel from the Sudan to Europe and back again and whatever he feels that he brought internally back with him - if he has improved some way, being a better person with something to contribute to his people.

I love how even in the present most of his time during the reconnecting with the atmosphere of his village is caught in remembering how it was like for him as a child.  Childhood days under a specific tree and such.  The is a picturesque quality in trying to experience all the sensations of the past, to remember what it as like before it all fell apart.   I dig how there is a sense of wonder about his time in Europe and how much it may have changed him, yet there doesn't seem to be anything "new" about him.

There is something to be said about being caught between a huge distance.  Anything you come across becomes memorable and vital to your being.  The narrator has placed himself back in an old comfort, but with the new textures that time has brought.  Then he notices something out of place - Mustafa.  What I find interesting here is that the initial fascination about him gives way to an almost subtle judgement on himself.

Mustafa was another person with a similar experience - being out in the world possibly in Europe, and returning with something more than what he left with.  Yet I think what what Mustafa represents is something bigger than the narrator's memories of his home and people, something bigger than the sum of himself.  There was just something more commanding or acceptable about Mustafa.

Ever come across someone like that?  Without even knowing them personally, seeing this almost unshakable drive they have and how people or things just naturally gravitate towards them.  There is no sadness or distance for them.  Only apparent belonging and shared space.

I think this is why Mustafa is so intriguing as far as where I'm at with the book.  Where he and the narrator may have had a similar journey back to the Sudan, the narrator feels like someone . . . nameless.  Just trying to find connection, but only having to settle for memories.  Mustafa seems to be all about the present and the future.   No matter what is background or history might be, there is no sense of emptiness that I get from the narrator. 

Fabulous

Thank you Victoria for providing the maps and links out to related info...giving context is a great idea. Plus, quite fond of the wallpaper. Fitting choice. Most of all, I really appreciate the clear directions on what to do next. I literally roll home after eleven after a day that starts way too early and by that time I just need to pour my brain into a pre-constructed mold. So, nice mold! Now, many pages to read before tomorrow.
Aryana

Welcome to the New Blog Session

I hope that we have fruitful and enlightening discussions, just as we had for Woman.
Happy Reading,
Victoria~President
P.S.
 Be sure to check out the links attached to Tayeb Salih's picture, the book cover, and also (no links here) the map of Sudan and it's different states, and then Africa to get us situated to the region.