December 13   The Charms of “The Orientalist”

Posted by galiush

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Hello All,

Long time since our last meeting…went through a very hectic (but good) period and I’m back in full force.

Generally I read only fiction, with very few exceptions. For me reading is about going on a journey to other people’s lives and minds, and the human situation is what fascinates me. Therefore I tend to skip non-fiction.

But – for every rule there is the exception, and today I am here to share with you my experience in reading a magical book – The Orientalist by Tom Reiss. This is the true story of a Jewish writer and author called Lev Nussimbaum and his remarkable life story – running away from the Bolsheviks and than the Germans, his literary career, his fascination with everything oriental and his conversion to Islam, his tumoltous love and family life- all this before his early death at the age of 36.

This book opens a real-life Aladdin’s cave of treasures and looks into the many facets of the life of an extremely intelligent and talented, but also risk-seeking and complex man.

It is also a journey into a world that no  longer exists – Baku and its oil magnates, Berlin and Vienna bustling with cultural life in which the Jewish community has a prominent role, Paris as the capital of Russian immigrants escaping the Bolsheviks – worlds that have died away, and which Reiss has succeeded in bringing to life with the help of the bery last few living witnesses of these places and times.

I came across this book completely by chance in my trip to Georgia, when in a very rainy day we found refuge at Prospero’s – the best English book store in Tbilisi. The thing I really rregret is that at the time I had no knowledge of the person the book spoke about, so I left behind a copy of Nussimbaum’s masterpiece Ali and Nino: A Love Story (written under the pseudonim Kurban Said).  I hope to rectify this and find a copy somewhere.

As my trip was, among other things, a discovery of the fantastic world of the land of the Caucasus, parts of The Orientalist really took me back to the beautiful scenery, the kindness of the people and the sense that everyone has a place.

The book is filled with the mystery and magic that is often present in real life but difficult to put into words. Tom Reiss has done a marvelous job and created a book that is not only a biography but a poem and a eulogy. It was moving and fantastic. You should give it a try.

If any of you has suggestions for other surprise masterpieces I’ll be very happy to hear about them.



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