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The Book of Saladin: A Novel

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Tariq Ali's "The Book of Saladin" is the second in his "quintet" about Islam. Don't let that put you off, though, as there is no set order to read the series in - no characters carry over from one book to the next and the continuity throughout is in fact the relationship between Islam and other religions during times of upheaval.

As the name suggests, "The Book of Saladin" is about that famous adversary of the Crusaders, the Kurdish Yusuf Salah-ad-din Ibn Ayyub who founded the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt. The basis of this novel is that Saladin has hired a Jewish writer to record his life and times as he leads the battle to re-take Jerusalem from the "Franj" (Crusaders, one of the many Arabic words used in the book and explained in the glossary).
The reader is therefore treated to a series of stories-within-stories, and knowing Ali's sense of humour (he is an electric public speaker) the parallel to the "Arabian Nights" is probably more than a fortuitous coincidence. Our narrator leads his own life over the years of his acquaintance with Saladin, along with its attendant highs and lows while recording Saladin's memories and hearing stories from his loyal retainers and members of his harem. All of these strands combine and separate in various ways to create a narrative experience quite hard to describe in words.
While the novel ends on a somewhat pessimistic note, this is probably only to be expected, as this was hardly a glorious time for either side involved in the conflict.

While certain characters - particularly Maimonides, who makes a cameo appearance - suffer from being relatively two-dimensional, the central characters are all eminently believable. In the case of Saladin, this is quite a feat as the volume of ink devoted to him over the centuries is quite spectacular and separating the man from the myth is a difficult task. The reader will almost certainly find themselves cheering when the Sultan wins a victory, whether on the battlefield or in the court chambers.

Ali's eye for detail is also deployed to great effect here. Ayyubid Cairo is evoked lovingly, as are the other locations which play important roles in the plot. Similarly, while the court intrigues of the time are confusing at best, Ali makes a noble attempt at simplifying things for the casual reader without an interest in the politics of the time. The frequent use of Arabic terms for events and places can be disconcerting to the reader with no background in the history of the region, however the glossary will help to overcome that - and the terms become easy to understand soon enough.
His sense of humour, too, plays an important part in this novel. Ali has a particular fondness for what can sometimes be described as "dirty jokes", as his description of Richard I of England clearly demonstrates. His dialogue between a heretical (Cathar, I believe) crusader and Saladin is hilarious, even to the extent of offensive comments being made in perfect Latin.

In short, this is a book which can be heartily recommended. For newcomers to Ali's writings, this is as good a place to start as any - possibly better than some other offerings, at that. This is also a great demonstration of "how the other half lives", in that the humanity of the "saracens" during the crusades is often overlooked. Knowledge of that humanity is, in my opinion, something we need now more than ever.

Tariq Ali's "The Book of Saladin" is a rich and teeming chronicle set in the twelfth-century Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem. The Book of Saladin is a fictional memoir of Saladin, the Kurdish liberator he Muslim leader during the Crusades, was one of the best known figures of the Middle Ages. The West accepted him as a worthy opponent; Islam was indebted to him for the recovery of Jerusalem. Ali brilliantly weaves a fiction tale around the historical figure Saladin.

Saladin grants permission to Ibn Yakub, his jewish scribe to walk to his wife and retainers so that he may portray a complete picture of his memories. A series of interconnected stories follow, tale brimming over with warmth, earthly humour and passions in which ideals clash with realities and dreams are confounded by desires. At the heart of the novel is an affecting love affair between the Sultans favorite wife, Jamila and the beautiful Halima.

The novel charts the course of Saladin as Sultan of Egypt and Syria and follows him as he prepares in alliance with his Jewish and Christian subjects to take Jerusalem back from the Crusaders.

This is a satisfying novel, told, despite its exotic settings, in sparse prose carrying a ring of authenticity reminiscent at times of Naguib Mahfouz. The book deals in complex and subtle people who question the nature of the relationship between body and soul and ponder the purposes of war, not in easy steretypes or generalisations, even in an area which has been traditionally replete with them. It is illuminationg to have the Saladin story told by a writer who has immersed himself in the 'other side'. Tariq Ali's novel creates an authentic-seeming court, full of intrigue, dominated by a man who is charismatic yet not a hero of romance, a rather hesitant, limping figure, a Sultan whose preferred diet is soup and beans. In Saladin's entourage are strong and intelligent women, the Sultana Jamila and her female lover, and their story is interwoven with that of the Sultan's public life. It may be controversial to assign such dominance to the women in a harem, but these are characters in a convincing story with a reality beyond that of historical cliche.

Two thumbs up, Tariq Ali ! This is a story , wonderfully told,of Salah al Din's maturation, comming to power , becoming acharismatic leader and finally , conquering Al Kadisiya (Jerusalem) from the hands of Crusades in 1187. Among other colourful characters is the Sultana Jamila, extremely educated, intelligent and enlightened, unlike all the rest of the women in the harem. Respected and admired for her virtues, Jamila questions the surpressed position of women in the world of Islam. The story is told by an outsider - a Jew in the service of the Sultan. A typical sympathetic scribe, he observes and listens attentively , and talks little. In the heart of the novel is the sad tragedy of muslims being so quarelsome among themselves, and being unable to unite against the enemy when the need arises....Salah Al Din is up to this day an awe-inspiring and much admired for his military and princely virtues character in the Muslim world...HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS NOVEL TO ALL ,ESPECIALLY THOSE INTERESTED IN THE HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST.!

Taking a leaf from the Middle Eastern story teller's practice of unfolding stories within stories, this one offers a scribe's eye view of the rise to power and the career of one of history's most fascinating leaders, Salah al-din (Saladin to Westerners), the Kurdish leader who rose to be Sultan of the Arabic world in the wake of the Crusades, becoming one of the Crusaders' most noble and notable opponents. The antagoinst and, indeed, the very antithesis of the blunt and often brutal Richard the Lionhearted, that famed English Crusader, Saladin successfully pushed back the European incursions on Palestinian shores and faced down Richard and his royal cronies thereafter, concluding an honorable truce which allowed Richard to go home to England without his tail hanging too obviously between his legs. This is all told through the eyes of a medieval Jewish scribe, recruited by Saladin to write his memoirs. In the process we hear about the sexual dalliances of the harem and Saladin's court and get to see the Kurdish Sultan in his medieval Muslim milieu, besieged by the machinations of the lesser men who surround him. There is an odd abstractness to it all; this tale's not very vivid and is sometimes nearly colorless in its narrative. And there is no plot to speak of, merely the back and forth required to tell us who Saladin was and what happens after our scribe joins him. Time passes almost vaguely and we are absorbed in a series of anecdotal tales and tales within tales, a la the Arabian Nights, so that, in the end, one doesn't have a clear picture of all that may have been happening in this time and place. And yet this is a worthy antidote for those who have been surfeited with the heroism and glory of the European Crusades. The actual record shows these Europeans to have been a brutal and benighted bunch, largely put to shame by the nobility and wisdom of men like Saladin. And this book, despite its flaws, does justice to that view. For a more romanticized (but equally fair) picture of Saladin, told in far more ornate and colorful prose, you may want to check out Sir Walter Scott's THE TALISMAN, a tale of Saladin and Richard seen through early nineteenth century literary lenses. A completely made-up story, but nicely told. Still Mr. Ali's version is worth reading for its own sake. And to honor the memory of a great leader who has been given less good press than he deserved here in the West.The King of Vinland's Saga

I enjoyed this novel greatly, even though the narrative lags at times, characters come in and out of focus, and the tone of description is all too often derivative of unreflective orientalism. So why did I enjoy it? Imagine this: a story about a Muslim-Jewish alliance to defend Jerusalem from European aggression -- an allegory of Palestine that recapitulates the essential imperialist dynamic of the Crusader history but from the point of view of those who have had to suffer under it. The value of this novel lies in the way it inverts the false dichotomies of our times -- like the one that separates Arab Muslim from Arab Jew -- in order to envision how Palestine would appear if its indigenous inhabitants had had a say in its rule. It's a sad comment on our times that Ali had to go back so far in history to find such a time -- but nevertheless, his farsightedness allows us to see beyond the horizon of the present, tragic moment of Palestinian history. Yes, the representation of Saladin is romantic -- but in light of the current capitulation of Jerusalem to the 20th century's version of crusader aggression, one ought to be excused for occasionally dreaming of Salah al-Din.

A fascinating and well told tale of the Muslim ruler Saladin who recaptured the city of Jeruselum from the Christians, a feat he accomplished by bringing together, or crushing, the various Arab tribes that hated and mistrusted each other more than the enemy that had invaded their lands. A great insight into a person of power, savvy,strength and faith in a time and place of great interest and dynmaics.

A must read for anyone interested in the stories of this epoch.

Tariq Ali's The Book of Saladin is something we don't get enough of in historical fiction: the story as told from the other side's point of view. It brings to mind books like Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, where the history is familiar but the point of view is uniquely different. We see things from the other side of the front, through the eyes of the "enemy", who, we find, is not really as different from us as we like to think.

In the case of The Book of Saladin, we also get a feel for a very different time and place, the Muslim world as it existed in the Middle East of the 12th century. Ali does an excellent job of bringing it to life, from the streets of Cairo and Damascus to the plains of Hattin where Saladin achieved his greatest victory that ultimately led to the liberation (from the Muslim point of view) of Jerusalem. The story, as told by the fictional Ibn Yakub, the Jewish scribe hand-picked by Saladin to chronicle his life, takes the reader on a marvelous tour of the period, from the ups and downs of Ibn Yakub's domestic life to the twisting political and personal intrigues of Saladin's court and hareem to the military campaigns where intelligence and spies were as important then as they are today. The richness of detail in Ali's descriptions brings to life the foods they ate, the songs and poems they wrote and listened to, and even their views on love and sex, frequently in astonishing detail.

The following passage is a good example of how the reader is drawn into the events as they unfold with Saladin's army on the move after the victory at Hattin:

--"We marched in comfort. The Sultan did not wish to tire his soldiers without cause. Villages and towns fell without a struggle and he added them to his conquests, which began to appear like a garland of pearls. Everywhere the inhabitants, be they Believers or Christians, or indeed of my own faith, would gather to stare at him with inquisitive eyes. Often children were brought to him so that he could bless them with a touch on their tiny heads. The Believers rejoiced, but there was no gloating. I have noticed how common it is for the populace to hurl curses at those who have been defeated, and to sing songs of prise in honour of the victors. This is a rule of war. It is the way in which the people defend themselves against uncertainties."
--"Yet in each village and town there are always those whose triumph rings false. In exhibiting their loyalty to the new conqueror, they defile the name of the old ruler, make tasteless jokes, and offend his reputation, like carrion to stray dogs. These are usually those very people who never offered resistance to the Franj, but, in the wake of their defeat, have become loud-mouthed avengers, creating new identities for themselves."
--"One would boast of how he found an isolated Franj knight near a stream and decapitated him so that the water ran red. Another would rival this tale with one even taller. He would speak of how, one night, he had caught a Franj knight violating the honour of a maiden, naturally a Believer, and driven his sword through the heart of the offender and then removed his testicles and fed them to the dogs."
--"After a few experiences of this nature, the Sultan ordered that any who lied about their exploits would be publicly whipped. Word spread that this Sultan did not look kindly on liars, and the number of boasters dwindled. Salah al-Din was angered by the sight of worthless braggarts climbing on the corpses of those who, whatever their faults, had at least fallen in battle."

In particular, I liked the way that Ali shows how much stories and story-telling were (and are) a part of Arab/Muslim culture. Every character in the book engages in telling stories, about themselves, about each other, and sometimes just stories that they heard that are worth passing on.

In truth, I only have two quibbles about this novel. One was that, as so often happens in historical fiction, the most interesting characters are the completely ficticious ones. In particular, Shadhi, an ancient, irreverent and always outspoken kinsman of Saladin's, was a delight, frequently more interesting than most of the real historical figures portrayed in the novel.

Which leads to my other quibble. While I feel that Ali does a marvelous job of immersing the reader in the culture and events of the period, I was left feeling that the emerging portrait of Saladin in the novel did not fully connect with Saladin the actual historical figure. I think Ali did a good job of humanizing him, making the reader aware of Saladin as a man. But at the same time, looking at the things the historical Saladin actually did, I feel that there was a certain element of, quite frankly, ruthless ambition in the historical Saladin that was absent in the Saladin the reader is shown.

One other note: while most novels dealing with Saladin focus in the period where he was fighting Richard the Lionheart of England, that particular piece of history is only barely touched on in this novel, taking up less than 20 pages out of 367. I only point this out as anyone expecting that in this novel will be somewhat disappointed. It is, however, worth reading for its rather different take on events, in particular the rather less than flattering nickname the Muslims had for Richard.

All in all, though, The Book of Saladin was a very enjoyable, and in many ways quite enlightening, read. Highly recommended.

A beautifully written novel: Tariq Ali gives us a fictionalised reconstruction of the life of Salah al-Din (Saladin), who regained Jerusalem in 1187.

The novel will be best enjoyed if readers can suspend any negative personal views and perceptions of the life and times of Salah al-Din and read this as fiction in an historical setting.

The language enables the reader to participate as an observer in events of the time and to appreciate the events from a different perspective. The major characters are well drawn, and much of the reasoning seems entirely plausible.

After reading this novel, I found I wanted to know more about the life and times of Salah al-Din.

All of the books of the Islam Quintet are worth reading: this novel stands out because many of us have some knowledge (or think we do) of the events depicted in the novel.

Highly recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Saladin, a Kurd by birth, led the Muslim reconquest of Jerusalem from the Crusaders.

Tariq Ali tells the story of the reconquest from the Muslim side. His narrator is Ibn Yakub, a Jews and friend of Ibn Maimum (Maimonides). Intertwined with the history is much court intrigue, including sexual intrigue reflecting divers appetites.

Interesting history and a good read.