Title : The Ladders of the Levant - Amin Maalouf - book
Summary :
"Ladders of the Levant" is the name once given to this string of trading cities through which European travelers reached the Orient. From Constantinople to Alexandria, via Smyrna, Adana, and Beirut, these cities have long been melting pots where languages, customs, and beliefs coexisted. Precarious worlds that History had slowly shaped, before demolishing them. Shattering, in the process, countless lives.
The hero of this novel, Ossyane, is one of those men whose destiny was twisted. From the agony of the Ottoman Empire to the two world wars and the tragedies that still tear the Middle East apart today, his life will weigh little more than a straw in the turmoil. Patiently, he remembers, he recounts his princely childhood, his demented grandmother, his rebellious father, his fallen brother, his stay in France under the Occupation, his meeting with Clara, their moments of fervor, heroism, and dreams; then the descent into hell.
Stripped of his future, of his dignity, deprived of the simplest joys, what remains for him? A love on hold. A quiet, but powerful love. Perhaps, in the end, more powerful than history.
There are characters in novels who stand out through the universality of their story. Their particular destiny bears witness to millions of others; through their loves, their dramas, their hopes, people recognize themselves... Ossyane is one of those romantic heroes who have the presence of mythical characters. Pierre-Robert Leclercq, Le Monde .
- EAN: 9782253144243
- Used book
- Book in good condition
- The book matches the photo
