Äåòàëüíàÿ èíôîðìàöèÿ îá èçäàíèè

Àâòîð:

Çàãëàâèå:

Travels with a tangerine

Òèï íîñèòåëÿ:

Îäíîòîìíèê.

Ìåñòî èçäàíèÿ:

London

Èçäàòåëüñòâî:

Picador

Ãîä èçäàíèÿ:

2001

Îáúåì:

351 p.

Àííîòàöèÿ:

What a fabulous book! Mackintosh-Smith starts with the book of travels dictated by Ibn Battutah, a 14th century from Tangiers who traveled far beyond the boders of the world of Islam of the day. This book traces him through northern Africa, Arabia, Syria, Anatolia, the Crimea and Constantinople. (Apparently he also traveled in central Asia, India, and China.) Mackintosh-Smith—s approach is to travel to a place looking for survivals related to Ibn Battutah—s experiences. He prowls through the local sites recording his conversations with the people he meets in his quest. I believe this was true to the flavor of Ibn Battutah—s book, but it also allows Mackintosh-Smith to put the past into juxtaposition with the present, with interesting results. He never fails to find survivals from Battutah—s time. The effect is something like rummaging through a very dark attic crowded with bric-a-brac with a very bright but narrow-beamed flashlight. Mackintosh-Smith seems to be extremely knowledgeable about medieval Islamic literature and history, and uses it to explain and entertain. At the same time he is a highly entertaining author. More than a few times I found myself laughing out loud. (Remember how they were —keeping the Sunni side up— in— was it the mosque in Damascus?) Mackintosh-Smith himself becomes a central object of speculation. He says relatively little about himself except to elucidate some Battutah-related point or experience, but you have to wonder about someone who chooses to live 17 years in Sana—a, is obsessed with Islamic culture, but chooses to remain a stolid Anglican in spite of regular friendly, well-meaning Islamic persuasion. This tension informs his discussion of the culture where so many religions and sects coexist, sometimes uneasily. People refer to him several times through the book as an Orientalist, and he calls himself an Arabist at one point. I look forward to Edward Said—s book for further considerations. (

ISBN:

978-0-330-49114-3

ßçûê:

Àíãëèéñêèé

ÁÁÊ:

Ðàçìåðû èçäàíèÿ:

20 cì.

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