Point Books Toward Leo Africanus
| Original Title: | Léon l'Africain |
| ISBN: | 1561310220 (ISBN13: 9781561310227) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Granada(Spain) Fes(Morocco) Timbuktu(Mali) …more Cairo(Egypt) Mecca(Saudi Arabia) Istanbul(Turkey) Rome: Papal States(Italy) Tunis(Tunisia) …less |
| Literary Awards: | Prix de l’Amitié franco-arabe (1986), Prix France-Liban de l'ADELF (1986) |
Amin Maalouf
Paperback | Pages: 370 pages Rating: 4.19 | 10551 Users | 933 Reviews
Relation Supposing Books Leo Africanus
"I, Hasan the son of Muhammad the weigh-master, I, Jean-Leon de Medici, circumcised at the hand of a barber and baptized at the hand of a pope, I am now called the African, but I am not from Africa, nor from Europe, nor from Arabia. I am also called the Granadan, the Fassi, the Zayyati, but I come from no country, from no city, no tribe. I am the son of the road, my country is the caravan, my life the most unexpected of voyages." Thus wrote Leo Africanus, in his fortieth year, in this imaginary autobiography of the famous geographer, adventurer, and scholar Hasan al-Wazzan, who was born in Granada in 1488. His family fled the Inquisition and took him to the city of Fez, in North Africa. Hasan became an itinerant merchant, and made many journeys to the East, journeys rich in adventure and observation. He was captured by a Sicilian pirate and taken back to Rome as a gift to Pope Leo X, who baptized him Johannes Leo. While in Rome, he wrote the first trilingual dictionary (Latin, Arabic and Hebrew), as well as his celebrated Description of Africa, for which he is still remembered as Leo Africanus.
Mention Epithetical Books Leo Africanus
| Title | : | Leo Africanus |
| Author | : | Amin Maalouf |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 370 pages |
| Published | : | June 26th 2012 by Ivan R. Dee Publisher (first published 1986) |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Novels. Cultural. Africa |
Rating Epithetical Books Leo Africanus
Ratings: 4.19 From 10551 Users | 933 ReviewsEvaluation Epithetical Books Leo Africanus
Check this out...'Wherever you are , some will want to ask questions about your skin or your prayers. Beware of gratifying their instincts, my son, beware of bending before the multitude! Muslim, Jew or Christian, they must take you as you are, or lose you. When men's minds seem narrow to you, tell yourself that the land of God is broad; broad His hands and broad His heart. Never hesitate to go far away, beyond all seas, all frontiers, all countries, all beliefs.' (p.360)Now go and read it!!!I felt while reading the book as if I were sitting in my grandma's lap listening to her telling me stories. This book really took me back in time, when I was still a little girl, favorite of grandma, listening to her stories at night or at nap time, or even just when everyone (family, friends, neighbors) gathered at her house for tea, and I was just sitting in a corner, not doing anything but listening to gossips. And I pretty much felt like this during the whole time I was reading the book, and
Overall, this one was a good reading experience except for when Leo started to talk about his relationship with his lovers. In different format of story telling what he was revealing probably more acceptable, but in this book, the intended reader supposed to be his Son. I could not believe peoples in Leo's life time revealing so much about their intimate relationship to their son, however close the father and son bond was.
So good, I changed my name by deed poll.
Beautiful, imaginative, enjoyable to read.
The book is based on the true story about the events in a man's life, the places he travels to, the people he encounters, etc against the backdrop of the Arabs losing Granada to Spain during the 1500s. I think it gives a pretty powerful insight to Arab politics, and there are a lot of striking similarities between Granada and Palestine. The book explores concepts like nationality, religion and lack thereof. I wanted to read something that was a bit of a departure from what I usually read i.e.
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