The Gardens of Light (Interlink World Fiction) [Paperback]

Amin Maalouf (Author), Dorothy Blair (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

The Gardens of Light tells the life story of Mani, painter, doctor, and prophet born in Mesopotamia--modern day Iraq--in the early third century of the Christian era. He advocated "The Gospel of Light"-a religious system that was a mixture of Gnostic Christian beliefs, ancient Persian Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and some pagan elements. This came to be known as Manichaeism and attracted vast numbers of disciples. The mystic exercised a powerful attraction over his disciples-rulers and scholars, itinerant merchants, shippers, Baptists and sages who inhabited the shores of the Tigris-and was hated by the Magi, the high priests of Zoroastrianism who felt threatened and eventually had him imprisoned, tortured, and killed in 276 AD. Amin Maalouf brings life and color to the character and times of Mani. In the pages of The Gardens of Light, Mani's cry for tolerance can be heard echoing across the centuries of our times.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An absorbing historical novel and a compelling parable for our time, Lebanese writer Maalouf's (Samarkand) exotic tale recreates the life of Mani (216-274 C.E.), the Persian mystic who founded the Manichaean religion and was eventually executed on the grounds of heresy. Forced, from the age of five to his mid-20s, to stay among the sadistic white-clad Brethren of his father's repressive religious community, the Parthian prophet begins to develop his own system of belief. Synthesizing the teachings of Jesus, Buddha and Zoroaster, Mani emphasizes tolerance and pacifism, not?as Western historians often claim?a reductive good vs. evil code., After he escapes, Mani sails to India, wins many converts and returns home to become protege and counsel to open-minded Persian King Shapur I. Shapur's beset with warmongering Zoroastrian priests who itch to impose fire worship on the whole empire. But it is his treacherous son's succession to the throne that sounds Mani's death knell. Though court intrigue sometimes stalls this earnest tale, Mani's message resounds across the centuries. Maalouf (who won France's 1993 Prix Goncourt for his novel The Rock of Tanios) imaginatively fleshes out the essence of Mani's life from scant biographical clues, rendering a portrait of a martyred visionary whose tale has gone largely untold.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"A fine meditative historical novel from the internationally acclaimed Lebanese author." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Maalouf's Mani has the ring of life... [A] sad, glowing book." -- The Washington Post

...has the feel of a 1950's Hollywood epic, in which men gesture boldly and deliver words that deserve to be immediately carved in stone. -- The New York Times Book Review, David Guy

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Interlink Publishing Group (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566562481
• ISBN-13: 978-1566562485
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully written, heartbreaking book., February 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Gardens of Light: A Novel (Emerging Voices) (Hardcover)

The Gardens of Light is the sort of book which lingers in one's mind long after he has set it down. A historical novel, it reconstructs the life and trials of Mani, the true life third century prophet of a new religion, Manichaeism. A sophisticated religion which sees "light" and "darkness" in all things, and creation itself the product of their mixture, Manichaeism is unique in that it respects all religions and their prophets, whether Jesus or the Buddha. The title itself is an allusion to mani's conception of heaven, a "garden of light."

Beautifully written in verse which at times reads like poetry, the story recounts Mani's life from the time he was raised by a fanatical group of Nazarine monks in Mesopotamia to his ultimate martyrdom. Along the way he forms an unusual alliance with Shapur, the great King of Kings of Persia. the book is fascinating for the glimpse it gives of the ancient Persian court, and the relationship Mani forms with Shapur... how Shapur accepted mani's teachings, since Mani taught tolerance and harmony. Shapur shared these goals, but not merely because of his character - such a religion would help bind the various peoples of his vast empire together, much as Constantine adopted Christianity to help unite his. And here lies the true beauty of this book - it's exploration of what motivates men of power, and of faith. Ultimately, Mani's true story is a meditation on the nature of beauty, faith, and tolerance.

Never ever boring, The Gardens of Light will introduce the reader to strange religions, important historical personages such as Shapur, and exotic places such as the Persian Empire and India in the third century. I consider the time I spent reading this book to have been uplifting and educational. I highly recommend this book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Novel of Mani, December 12, 2006

By 

Robin Friedman (Washington, D.C. United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Gardens of Light (Interlink World Fiction) (Paperback)

I read Amin Malouf's historical novel "The Gardens of Light" after reading Paul Kriwackek's high praise for it in his recent book about Zoroastrianism, "In Search of Zarathustra: Across Iran and Central Asia to find the Worlds' First Prophet." Maalouf has written a rare book about a historical period and figure that will be obscure to many readers. He has told an inspring story that may keep readers awake through many a late night.

"The Gardens of Light" was Maalouf's first novel. He is a Lebanese author who writes in French and now lives in France. The book has been ably translated by Dorothy Blair who also provides a useful chronology of Mani's times. I am told by a friend who reads French that Maalouf writes in a highly formalized, literary style unusual among current French authors.

Mani (216-274 A.D.) was a Persian prophet and mystic, the founder of a teaching known as Manichaenism, which attracted many followers, East and West, for centuries before dying out. Little is known of Mani's life. But Maalouf has woven a beautiful story of Mani which integrates the sparse details of his life with a history of the dynasties of Persia. Maalouf's book is a meditation on religion, philosophy and art. His novel shows the dualism -- the belief that the world is a battleground between forces of good and pure light and evil and that it is man's work to strive for the triumph of good -- that was Mani's most famous (and notorious) teaching. Maalouf also shows Mani as a syncretist -- a thinker who tries to combine the best of a number of seemingly disparate religious systems. In Mani's case, his doctrine is primarily a synthesis of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Christianity. Maalouf also shows Mani as a pacifist, artist,vegetarian, and follower of the life of the intellect.

In Maalouf's telling, Mani spends most of the first 24 years of his life in a small Christian ascetic community known as the Palm Grove of the White Clad Bretheren. Mani's father, Patek, had abandoned his pregnant wife, Mariam, to join the Bretheren, and Mani is abducted as an infant to live in the Palm Grove. He reads in the library, learns of his genius as an artist, and hears prophetic voices from his "other" which precipitate his leaving the Order at the age of 24.

Mani begins spreading his message of peace, the equality of religions, toleration, dualism, and beauty. He travels to India and forms a friendship with Hormisdas, the liberal-minded younger son of the Sassnian ruler, Shapur. He also incurrs the lasting enmity of the priestly caste and of Bahram, Hormisdas' older brother. The Persian King Shapur grants Mani an audience, allows him to preach, and the two form a tortured and difficult friendship, as Mani's message becomes entangled with a well-meaning ruler and with war and the ways of the world. The favor Mani enjoys comes to an end with the ascension of Bahram to the throne, following Shapur's death and the assassination of Hormisdas. Many is tortured and put to death.

This book gives an excellent picture of the Persian dynasty, readily accessible to those with no background in this area. There is an intriguing treatment of the relationship between Persia and the latter Roman Empire. Maalouf also offers a nuanced picture of Zoroastrianism, noted by Paul Kriwackek in his study. But the book is ultimately about Mani and his message and his failed dream. As Maalouf portrays it, Mani's vision retains its power to stimulate the mind and move the heart. The teachings of beauty, mind, peace, and religious synthesis will remain in the reader's mind long after completing this outstanding novel.

Robin Friedman

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A bold project, artfully executed, December 2, 2001

By 

Scott Henson (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Gardens of Light (Interlink World Fiction) (Paperback)

Maalouf's historical novel brims with insight into the ideas and times of the religious leader Mani. I had studied historians'conclusions on the prophet, and much of the minimalist period evidence available as compiled by GRS Mead. But this novel brought those belief systems to life in new and fascinating ways. A bold project, artfully executed. Read and enjoy.