Beggar at Damascus Gate

Yasmine Zahran was born in Ramallah, paradise. She was educated at capital of S poph Carolina University, and London University. She earned a doctorate in archeology from the Sorbonne. She is the author of two previous books wizard on ancient Palestine, Echoes of History, and a novel, The First Melody 3. A Beggar at Damascus penetration is a story of love, intrigue and mystery.It is quite difficult to classify it in a single genre. At iodine point it seems like a love story, at another, like a spy novel, and up to now at other times, it just seems like a literary work of history 2.Cold and alone in a small inn, an archaeologist/professor, Foster comes across an old dusty undersurfacevas bag in the closet of his room. Opening this, he finds letters and journals. He hesitates at first of all, not wanting to go by dint of someone elses personal journals, but curious, he reads them, to discover that they belong to two lovers A Palestinian woman Rayya, living in exile in France and an English man Alex. They were married to each other. What follows is a well crafted novel, weaved with passages from the lovers journals. Foster is fascinated, and decides to compile the journals and letters into a single manuscript, and thump it published.Zahrans novel can simply be confabed a master piece. It is story closely lovers of two contending cultures. Rayya is a deeply fast(a) woman, completely devoted to her shit, of seeing Palestine as a free and sovereign state. A split up of the narrative is based on Rayyas determination. The book is set in the time immediately by and by the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict. Palestine is under military occupation. Britain has colonized Palestine. There birth is marred by semipolitical instabilities, and disobedient national loyalties. When Rayya and Alex first come to know each other, Zahran follows a light-hearted course.Both tease each other about their backgrounds, their different cultures and their different heritage. Bu t slowly and sadly, this emerges into a much deeper rebellion both begin get suspicious about each other. Is Rayya more devoted to her homeland, or to her love? Is Alex really the man he shows himself to be 2? Suspicions begin when Rayya discovers that Alex can speak Arabic 4. She begins fearing that he could be an English spy. There kinship is painful and touching. At times, out of national loyalty, both try to separate from each other, but emotions relate to draw them together.Rayyas suspicions eventually cause Alexs death 4. The narrative follows the eight year kinship between the two. Zahran in any case brings out the contemporary Palestinian culture and thought to life. In detail, the plight of the Palestinians is what stands out most in the book. Even something as strong as true love is not fit to bring two people from these two vastly different cultures together. The fate of the Palestinian people hangs continually over their relationship and the story follows a tragi c path of treachery and suspicion. The book shows the collective point of the Palestinian people, and what the Nakba did to it 2. Palestinians were expelled from their territory, where Israel was born. The Palestinian exodus is called the Nakba, meaning disaster. Zahran cleverly intertwines snatches of the journals in the narrative, and we come across Rayyas poetry, which is actually moving. Her writing is dreamlike and full of feeling, A poetic, empowering portrayal of the struggle for liberation both personal and political liberation 2. Foster spends ten years looking for the couple desperately, and finally, is about to give up hope, money box he actually finds Rayya.The tension builds up, and ultimately, Zahran brings us to an anti-climax, as life often is 2. Good does not ceaselessly triump over evil, nor does love over hate. Zahran avoids using cliches 2. What she depicts is the true plight of millions displaced from their very homeland. The relationship between Alex and Rayya too is not a typical one. Both have their national loyalties, and will stand out by them no matter what. Rayya, in particular is passionately devoted to the Palestinian cause. Never does Zahran set apart the characters from the life around them.It is indeed the life and the war around them that lead to their separation. What many critics believe is that Alex plausibly never truly understood Rayyas passion for her homeland, since he had never lived a life of oppression. He did not understand what it was like to have your home country and people under military occupation, for years. Rayya, on the other hand had been brought up in a time and region of constant political unstableness and military warfare. The experiences in her life had shaped her into an intensely patriotic, strong person, defending her cause, her people and her nation.Written in first person, from the mind of Foster, Zahran has built up an interesting and engaging narrative structure that keeps the proofrea der captivated. In fact many have found Zahrans writing almost magical, and strangely close to life. Her style is deceptively simple. It can undoubtedly be accepted that A Beggar at Damascus Gate is one of the best works of contemporary literature. The book is also a beautiful preservation of an emotional military man relationship, and the culture and life of a daunting era. The book ends vaguely, but Zahran has made herself clear. The tragedy lies not whole in Alex and Rayas alienation.It lies in the damage war and conflict can do. Zahran states it herself Love is a unendingly changing landscape 1. Even though the lovers cannot be together by the end, Zahran does not leave the reader dejected. What Rayya and Alex shared may not have lasted, but it left its impact. For both, the relationship proved to be a journey of self-discovery the final resolution surprises them both and reveals a depth to their commitments that neither had previously realized 3. It also proved to be a de ep experience for Foster, and resulted in his determination to find either of the two, and to get the manuscript published.What is more haunting is the fact that readers, even today can understand the strife of the characters Palestine is still far from free. Rayyas dream is still a dream her homeland is still not free. As Marzahn stated in her review We all need a little place to call home, a little piece of world to which we belong. The realization for some people that it is not possible to relent home is one of sorrow. Reading The Beggar at Damascus Gate by Yasmin Zahran brings to the forefront that poignant struggle facing many Palestinians.It is a book that makes one think about home, loss, and the just cause 4. Works Cited 1. Zahra, Yasmin. A Beggar at Damascus Gate. The Post Apollo Press, ISBN 0-942996-24-0 2. Amazon Reviews, A Beggar at Damascus Gate, retrieved from http//www. amazon. com/Beggar-at-Damascus-Gate/dp/0942996240 3. Swensen, Cole and Cooke, Miriam, A Beggar a t Damascus Gate (short review), retrieved from http//www. postapollopress. com/A_Beggar. html 4. Marzahn, Michelle A. A Beggar at Damascus Gate A War Between Emotions and Politics, Book review from Al Jadid, Vol. 2, No. 7, May 1996