Schami, Rafik "The Dark Side of Love"

Schami, Rafik "The Dark Side of Love" (German: Die dunkle Seite der Liebe) - 2004

Rafik Schami has managed to get on my list of all time favourite authors with just three of his books. Luckily, he has written a lot more so I am looking forward to more great novels.

Rafik Schami once said you cannot understand the history and present of the Arabs without the prohibition of love. And with this book he has shown us a great example and hopefully helps us to understand each other better. Apparently, it took him 30 years to write this book. 30 years well spent, even if this had been his only one.

His real name is Suheil Fadél, his pen-name means "friend of Damascus". He fled from his country in 1970 and settled in Germany where he still lives today. All his books are written in German. This book is slightly autobiographical.

This is the story of Farid Mushtak, born in Syria in 1940, into a Syriac-Christian family (like the author). His father is a baker - like the author's …

This is the story of Farid's love to Rana Shahin, a love that cannot be because their families are arch-enemies.

This is the story of the families Mushtak and Shahin who have been enemies for so long that hardly anyone remembers how it all started.

This is the story of Damascus, the capital city of Syria, a city that has lived through difficult times for a long long time.

And finally, this is the story of Syria and its history. Lots of information, especially if you have never read a book about this country.

The book has about 1,000 pages but at the end you think, this was far too short, could have been twice as long. It's just that brilliant!

I read this in the original German language.

Translation of the German back cover:

"In his opulent story mosaic, Rafik Schami tells of a love that must not be, of blood revenge, tribal feuds and family strife, and spans an oriental-colourful picture arc over a century of Syrian history."

Even though this is a lot shorter, it's much better than the blurb on the English back cover which only describes the beginning of the novel:

"A dead man hangs from the portal of St Pauls Chapel in Damascus. He was a Muslim officer and he was murdered. But when Detective Barudi sets out to interrogate the man's mysterious widow, the Secret Service takes the case away from him. Barudi continues to investigate clandestinely and discovers the murderers motive: it is a blood feud between the Mushtak and Shahin clans, reaching back to the beginnings of the 20th century. And, linked to it, a love story that can have no happy ending, for reconciliation has no place within the old tribal structures. Rafik Schamis dazzling novel spans a century of Syrian history in which politics and religions continue to torment an entire people. Simultaneously, his poetic stories from three generations tell of the courage of lovers who risk death sooner than deny their passions. He has also written a heartfelt tribute to his hometown Damascus and a great and moving hymn to the power of love."

Schami, Rafik "A Hand Full of Stars"

Schami, Rafik "A Hand Full of Stars" (German: Eine Hand voller Sterne) - 1987

Rafik Schami is a Syrian author who has lived in Germany for almost 35 years. He writes in German but has never forgotten his native country and his stories are mainly about that. In this book he tells the story of the son of a baker, well, the young boy tells the story himself, about his problems of growing up but also about the political problems in his country and how he gets involved.

I think Rafik Schami has written part of his own life, he himself is the son of a baker and started writing at a very early age. The fact that the protagonist tells his own story, leads even more to this assumption.

In any case, this is a wonderful story about growing up as well as about the situation in Syria. If you read this, you will notice that the situation has only grown worse in the 25 years since its publication, and I think it would help a lot of people rethinking their opinion about the refugees that come to our countries because they have nowhere else to go anymore. We can learn of the situation in a country where democracy is a foreign word, where people can just get picked up by the police for no reason at all or for something that we all take for granted.

Great read.

I have read two of Rafik Schami's books, so far, but will add more, that I am sure of:
"The Calligrapher’s Secret" (Das Geheimnis des Kalligraphen) - 2008
"Eine deutsche Leidenschaft names Nudelsalat: und andere seltsame Geschichten" [A German passion called noodle salad: and other strange stories]. This one is only available in German, he talks about all the little things that only a foreigner would notice in a host country. I loved these stories just as much as those about Syria.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2026.

From the back cover:

"Amid the turmoil of modern Damascus, one teenage boy finds his political voice in a message of rebellion that echoes throughout Syria and as far away as Western Europe. Inspired by his dearest friend, old Uncle Salim, he begins a journal to record his thoughts and impressions of family, friends, life at school, and his growing feelings for his girlfriend, Nadia. Soon the hidden diary becomes more than just a way to remember his daily adventures; on its pages he explores his frustration with the government injustices he witnesses. His courage and ingenuity finally find an outlet when he and his friends begin a subversive underground newspaper. Warmed by a fine sense of humor, this novel is at once a moving love story and a passionate testimony to the difficult and committed actions being taken by young people around the world."

Schami, Rafik "The Calligrapher’s Secret"

Schami, Rafik "The Calligrapher’s Secret" (German: Das Geheimnis des Kalligraphen) - 2008

Our latest novel was written by the Syrian author Rafik Schami who moved to Germany when he was 25 and started writing in German a couple of years later. His original name is Suhail Fāḍil, his pseudonym means "Friend of Damascus" or "he who comes from Damascus".

Some of us had been reading the book in the original German, others in the translation into English. We think that might have influenced our attitude towards the book.

I loved it. There is a lot of history of calligraphy and that was highly interesting. The author liked to build anticipation by giving away a little beforehand which was not my cup of tea at the beginning but it worked out very well. Lots of details, you could vividly imagine the scenes.

However, even though the story was interesting and I loved reading it, the "annex" about the calligraphy and the history is my favourite part. (Unfortunately, this was completely missing in the English version!!!) The discussion whether the Arab language is God’s language and nothing can be added to it, quite a topic.

As to the English version, the German book cover reads: "Die bewegende Geschichte des Damaszener Kalligraphen Hamid Farsi, der den großen Traum einer Reform der arabischen Schrift verwirklichen will und nicht merkt, in welche Gefahr er sich begibt." (in English: "The moving story of the Damascene calligrapher Hamid Farsi, who wants to achieve the great dream of a reform of the Arabic script and does not realize the danger he risks.") However, the English book cover describes: "Even as a young man, Hamid Farsi is acclaimed as a master of the art of calligraphy. But as time goes by, he sees that weaknesses in the Arabic language and its script limit its uses in the modern world. In a secret society, he works out schemes for radical reform, never guessing what risks he is running. His beautiful wife, Noura, is ignorant of the great plans on her husband’s mind. She knows only his cold, avaricious side and so it is no wonder she feels flattered by the attentions of his amusing, lively young apprentice. And so begins a passionate love story of a Muslim woman and a Christian man." Quite a difference, don't you think?

The problem, as so often, may be the translation. While the German readers knew what was coming, the English readers were waiting for the passionate love story of a Muslim woman and a Christian man to start (which was in there but rather a side story).

But even in the English version, you could see the poetry, the beauty of the words. But it seemed more like a travel guide of Damascus, one story piled on top of each other, too many sub plots.

We believe the story to be a metaphor for the impossibility of a traditional Islamic society to live in this world. The author is using calligraphy to show the fundamentalism, to show that this will not work in the 20th century. Another author who does this beautifully is Orhan Pamuk who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006. One of my favourite books by him is "My Name is Red". He has also written a very interesting autobiography which is an ode to his home town, as well: "Istanbul. Memories of a City". We suppose the Turkish have avoided this kind of problem with the language by introducing the Latin spelling.

Some quotes I really liked (I read the original, so had to translate the words myself, might not be the same as in the book):

"Gott hat die Gesichter erschaffen, damit wir sie sehen und erkennen. Das Herz macht fromm -, nicht der Schleier." (God created the faces so we can see and recognize them. The heart makes devout, not the veil.)

"Oft stand zur Tarnung über den erotischen Versen ein leicht lesbarer religiöser Spruch." (Often the erotic verses were camouflaged with an easily readable religious saying.)

"Die Erde ist eine Hölle für Wissende, das Fegefeuer für Halbwissende und das Paradies nur für die Unwissenden." (The earth is hell for the knowing, purgatory and paradise for those knowing half  and paradise only for the ignorant.)

We discussed this in our international book club in April 2012.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"A new international bestseller from the award-winning author of The Dark Side of Love. Even as a young man, Hamid Farsi is acclaimed as a master of the art of calligraphy. But as time goes by, he sees that weaknesses in the Arabic language and its script limit its uses in the modern world. In a secret society, he works out schemes for radical reform, never guessing what risks he is running. His beautiful wife, Nura, is ignorant of her husbands ambitions, knowing only his cold, avaricious side. So its no wonder she feels flattered by the attentions of his young apprentice. And so begins a passionate love storythe love of a Muslim woman and a Christian man."

I read "Eine deutsche Leidenschafts names Nudelsalat: und andere seltsame Geschichten"  [A German passion called noodle salad: and other strange stories] (not translated into English) and
"Eine Hand voller Sterne" (A Hand Full of Stars) in the meantime and they were both great books.