PDF Trickster Travels: A Sixteenth-Century Muslim Between Worlds by Dr. Natalie Zemon Davis in History

Review

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Disappointing Work by a Distinguished HistorianBy Simple ScholarNatalie Zemon Davis is not the first historian to examine the life al-Wazzan. Her contribution to the study of early modern history comes; rather; from her interpretation of al-Wazzan’s life. She suggests that al-Wazzan’s conversion was not completely genuine. Caught between the tensions and contradictions of the Christian and Islamic worldviews; al-Wazzan; Davis argues; attempted to avoid public conflict and denouncement of either religion. In his writings; he attempted to “build a bridge for himself; one that he could cross in either direction” (114). His writings are; therefore; esoteric. They employ the Arabic concept of hila; or stratagem. On the one hand; his scholarship integrated Arabic storytelling into the Western world; synthesizing Christian and Muslim thought. On the other hand; al-Wazzan wrote his treatises carefully and cautiously; lest Christians or Muslims challenged his orthodoxy. Davis argues convincingly that al-Wazzan’s corpus needs to be examined with his autobiography in mind.While Davis’ book is engaging; “Trickster Travels” partakes in several of the pitfalls of cultural history. Above all; Davis employs too much conjecture in her book. For example; in her long – and virtually unnecessary – chapter on sex; Davis; drawing on the slang al-Wassan uses in his "Geography;" raises the possibility that al-Wazzan frequented the brothels of Rome and Africa and that he may have engaged in homosexual activity or had suppressed homoerotic desires. While he may have had such tendencies; Davis does not provide enough evidence to support this claim. The second pitfall of cultural history present in Davis’ book is that the modern concept of ‘identity’ is imposed on al-Wassan’s life. Although Davis does show that al-Wassan realized that he was caught in between worlds; she does not demonstrate that al-Wassan viewed himself as an ‘individual’ in the modern sense of the word. Al-Wassan seems less concerned with identity politics and more concerned with the more philosophical question of what is truth.These faults aside; Davis’s book is a fine monograph. Davis’s prose is clear and easy to read. The book; printed by a major publishing house; is accessible to a wide reading audience and could be used in an undergraduate class to introduce students to global history in the sixteenth century. Despite being a work of popular history; the work is an impressive product of world-class scholarship. There are one hundred pages of notes; a small glossary of Arabic words; and an extraordinary bibliography of primary and secondary sources.0 of 7 people found the following review helpful. The quality of biography is not strained...By Larry N. StoutA monumental square peg of scholarship pounded into a small round hole of fragmental biography. Much interesting history here; but in the aggregate it is incoherent and does not substitute for a credible biography. Too little is known about the nebulous figure Leo Africanus; in fact; to write a biography; and (as others have noted) amassing tangential historical information is fruitless; tacking such on to what poses as biography with endless phrases like "probably did"; "may well have seen"; "might well have known" is tantamount to historical fiction; yet lacks the coherence of that genre. In short; a frustrating book that shouldn't have been.3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. The Historian As TricksterBy ChimonshoDavis is something of a trickster herself. Her favorite "trick" is to illuminate past and present by digging into obscure lives and hidden corners of history. "The Return of Martin Guerre" is the best-known instance; but "TT" does the same for a more prominent 16C figure who proved adept at negotiating different cultures and faiths. The evidence for Leo Africanus's life is lamentably thin; but NZD addresses this issue by crafting a life--times study. It's also a biography of a book; not just the author. Plentiful detail on the Mediterranean world in that era shows how his career progressed as scholar and cultural go-between; allowing us to see why his "Description of Africa" became the first classic general work on the continent. It is especially valuable because he lived in Africa for lengthy periods; comprehending the continent as denizen and witness as well as scholar. NZD's own career has been brilliantly innovative; which seems to puzzle more conventional minds. Nevertheless she memorably expands our appreciation of what history can do; and be. Write on!