Customer Reviews

Goha The Wise Fool

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

According to the book's flyleaf, Goha is a traditional Middle Eastern folk figure, "whose tales have been passed by word of mouth through the streets of the smallest villages...for centuries and centuries, beloved for their wit and wisdom." Each of the 15 brief stories (translated by the renowned Denys Johnson-Davies) has an accompanying illustration made originally from a khiyamiya-a hand-sewn tapestry constructed here by Hag Hamdy and Hany of Cairo, Egypt. The textures, colors, and imaginative compositions and aanimal motifs highlight this unusual and entertaining book.

Goha is a delightful mix of wisdom and folly, two characteristics often intertwined in folklore. The stories read like a comedian's monologue, there's a set-up involving such issues as Goha's domestic arguments with his wife, his encounters with unfamiliar settings and/or people, and his concerns with thieves and moochers, resolved by a short, one or two-line observation/punchline. Although Goha occasionally out-tricks the tricksters and gets direct, though mild revenge (as when some uninvited guests find that their shoes are missing because Goha sold them for the food that they ate, and Goha tells them, "Your shoes are in your stomach."), more often Goha simply turns his inquisitors' comments back on them. After swimming fully clothed because his clothes had previously been stolen on the river bank, his critics comment," How stupid of you...Whoever goes for a swim wearing all of his clothes?" "'Only someone who prefers ...wearing his clothes wet than have someone else wearing them dry." In a few stories, the closing is flat; the humor is neither clever nor funny: A thief makes off with all of their possessions when Goha and his wife settle an argument by seeing who can stay silent the longest. In the story illustrated on the book cover, Goha concludes that there are 19 geese instead of 20 because one of the 20 policemen didn't pick up a goose. Some of the stories work well as moral instruction; in others, however, the storyline seems diminished by the need to convey a message. In the best stories, such as when Goha buys back his own beloved but old donkey after hearing the donkey seller shout its praises, humor combines with Goha's folly and wisdom (sometimes, a naive wisdom) in a natural, unforced manner.

A brief afterward includes a photo of the two illustrators, Hag Hamdy (who drew the pictures) and Hany El Saed Ahmed, who sewed them into tapestries (in a district called the "Street of the Tentmakers"), and also tells more about the Goha character and the various cultures in which he appears. While the stories are a bit uneven, the pictures are unique and beautiful, and lovers of stories set in other lands will find much to enjoy here. Note: The book does not contain cloth material; rather, the tapestries are rendered on high quality paper that reveals the original materials, vivid colors, and texture-based detail.

This book is not just for children, but for anyone interested in the the delightful adventures and life lessons to be gained from mythic characters. Called Goha in the Middle East (Egypt), "the wise fool" goes by many other names and folk fables about him are found in many other cultures. Illustrations for this book are done in fabric art (hand-sewn "khiyamiyas", and the slim little volume is beautifully presented.

My kids and I love this book. Goha is foolish and wise from story to story. The artwork is truly unique, the stories well-written and thought provoking. So much more than just another kids' book.