ebooks The Tongue of Adam by Abdelfattah Kilito in History

Review

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Full of sound and other stuff. Not sure what it signifies.By Steven T. AbellI try to find something positive to say about this book; and find that to be difficult. There are several essays here referring to the big-name sacred texts of the Middle East; to secondary authors; to commentators on these; and to commentators on the commentators. The presentation is agreeable and induces one to engage with the discussion; leaving the impression that some useful mentation has occurred. Then one notices that; while every side of the issue has been covered; no useful conclusion has been drawn; or can be. Or; if one has; it will be contradicted in the next essay. This is something like eating Cheetos: one can consume a vast number of these things; acquiring no positive nutrition or even volume of substance; but large amounts of tasty salt; flavorings; and color have passed over the tongue. Broccoli might be less fun; but it is a better investment.Also; $9.99 is a heavy toll for this little thing. I suggest you dicker for a better price.If one is looking for a lesson in Arabic literature and culture; then perhaps this work is more instructive that it at first appears to me. I have no way of knowing. If it is; then Arabic thought is an acquired taste that I failed to acquire from reading this. Truly; though; this man knows his stuff and loves it; even if I don't. That is something I can appreciate across the distance between us; and the world might be a better place if there was more of that going around.The final essay is off-topic; and more useful to me than anything that preceded it. Arabic is the author's first language; but he was a professor of French literature for forty years; and in France; too. His French must be pretty good; as well as his understanding of French Lit. One might hope this would earn him some credit when he announces to his French colleagues that he intends to publish some of his works in Arabic. But apparently not. Culture is thick stuff; and cultural pride is one of its thickest ingredients. As I said earlier; I try to find something positive to say about this book. The best I can do is to point at this final essay; which is not hard to understand at all; and say "I only speak English; and so I can't understand what the author would dearly like to share with me." This is; perhaps; what he has to tell us after all.