Dar El Shorouk’s reprint of Bahaa Taher’s “Noqtat Al-Noor (Point of Light) couldn’t have been released at a better time, following the huge success of his Arabic Booker Prize winner “Wahet Al Ghoroub (Sunset Oasis).
First released in 2001 before the surge in sales of Egyptian books that “The Yacoubian Building would incite later, “Light completely went off the radar at a time when a very limited group of intellectuals constituted Taher’s core readers. In fact, some of Taher’s most devoted readers weren’t aware of the existence of Taher’s least known novel until Dar El Shorouk decided to re-release it a month ago.
Although conceived nine years ago, “Point of Light tells a timeless story set in 1980s Egypt. The mood, characters and the predicaments they struggle with are as pertinent today as they were over two decades ago. Perhaps that’s why it’s easier for young readers to connect with “Point more than “Sunset Oasis whose events take place in the 1890s.
Taher is a writer with a distinct style and an easy, flowing prose. Most readers who were enthralled by “Sunset Oasis will not be disappointed with “Light; a slow-burning page-turner stuffed with secrets and profound revelations. The main focus of the novel is the fading spirituality of Eastern culture. It is even tempting to call the work a psychological study of the conflicts Eastern mysticism faces in a world entrenched in concrete facts.
The handful of characters whose lives the novel chronicles are a curious bunch, each searching for happiness in his/her own way. The main protagonist of the novel is Tawfiq, an old Cairo resident, grandfather of Salem and Fawzia, the only remaining members from his once large family.
As a young solitary boy, Salem grows up with the stories of his grandfather and the love of his caring older sister. Tawfiq tells him many fascinating stories of his friend, Abo Khatwa, a man known for his psychic abilities, karamaat (blessings) and predicting the future.
The stories, replete with mystery and hidden connotations, start materializing in real life when the shy and peaceful Salem starts cursing out of nowhere.
The most profane words start blurting out of the mouth of a boy who has never even attempted to offend anyone. This inexplicable incident doesn’t reoccur often, but his family remains bewildered.
The grandfather is no less enigmatic than his grandson. A loveable, kindhearted man, Tawfiq, nevertheless, has one peculiar secret his grandchildren incessantly wonder about: Every Thursday night he puts on his best outfit, goes out and returns shortly before the break of dawn. No one knows where he goes and he never seems willing to divulge his whereabouts.
The grandfather’s secret is never out in the light, yet the grandson’s secret becomes manifest in an unforeseen moment between himself and his college love, Lobna. The latter has few secrets of her own;, but the divorce of her parents conceals a larger, graver truth.
Each of these characters is looking for something, searching for a higher truth that neither Taher nor his characters articulate in tangible terms. The characters become so overwhelmed with the searching process itself as the light lurking at the end of the tunnel grows more distant and obscure.
Near the end of the story, we follow Tawfiq as he approaches the gates of the afterlife. He remembers his last meetings with his old friend Abo Khatwa, and the prophecies he made for him. Abundant with splendor and grandeur, Abou Khatwa’s prophecies are, however, devoid of any specifications. He ponders Abo Khatwa’s words and prays to find the light hidden under swaths of darkness. Abo Khatwa’s visions console him to an extent, but he swiftly grows anxious, and obsessed, with the prophecies he involuntary blends with his own interpretation of those visions.
The secrets Taher tells and keeps from the reader, as well as the riddles and mysteries he juggles, immerse the novel in a sea of Eastern spirituality and mysticism. What’s fascinating about Taher’s writing is his seamless juxtaposition of the dream-world and reality, a method further developed and refined in “Sunset Oasis. The emotional honesty of his characters, and the strong realistic foundation of their relationships, blurs the distinction between both worlds. This theme is clearly illustrated via Tawfiq, a man whose entire existence is entrenched in faith and miracles.
Most of the secrets Taher conceals from his readers, as well the basis for his characters’ eccentric actions are revealed at the end, yet some aren’t. The point is, as the novel’s introductory quote implies, the question is in fact the answer.
