The story assembles the fates of civilizations and nations into those of individuals.. warm and touching, uses Malouf's regular 'memoire' style to take the perspective of the lead character and draw the global events in the colors of personal experience.... very humanely.
The east's fall (beautiful symbolizm of irrationality, traditions, madness, riot, etc..)... the struggles of the early 20th century in the east, and its middle in the west ... then going back to the east ... worlds torn apart, lives fading away ...... A hidden mysterious and pure love emerges stronger than everything ... giving life , and hope ..
There is of course the (somehow) regular distant fast and impersonal portray of the middle east struggle, where it seems that the writer blames ignorance - simply - for the tragedies happening .. All people's faults equally .. somehow.. could be a topic too difficult to receive real humane description. It seemed somehow easy to blame the savagery of Nazis ..[ I had to mention this point ]
As good as this book was .. Samarqand remains the #1 book of his, followed by 'The Gardens of light' ...
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