Jokha al Harthi became the first ever Omani fiction writer to win the prestigious Man’s Booker Prize for her beautifully crafted novel Celestial Bodies.
Originally written in Arabic, the novel is translated into English by Marilyn Booth. It is a tale that runs into three generation of an Omani family. During the course of time the family witnesses inevitable social transformation that leads into anxiety, chaos and conflict in the life of various family members.
A myriad of themes such as love, betrayal, loss, envy, hatred and belief in supernatural powers complement the tale.
The novel mainly spins around three sisters Mayya, Khawla and Asma as well as Abdullah, the son of merchant Sulayman.
In the first chapter we are introduced to Mayya who most of the time is either absorbed in her sewing machine or praying to see a glimpse of her unrequited love just for one last time. As usual she is lost to the world in her room when her mother bursts in and informs her that merchant Sulayman has asked for her hand in marriage with his son Abdullah. She is shocked. She thinks that God has chastised her for seeking unrequited love. However, she surrenders to fate and family’s wish by accepting the proposal without any substantial protest.
Asma has a great flair for reading. She has an enormous amount of old and rare books mainly on Islamic traditions. However, she is often found fretting about various irrelevant quotations of these books. These quotations, among other things have lost their relevance in the new and fast changing world. She marries Khalid, a relative and a horse artist, and lives a happy life.
Khawala, spends a decade waiting for her cousin Nasir to return from Canada. During this period she turns down a number of marriage proposals. At last Nasir shows up and they eventually ties the knot. But unlike the two sisters, her marriage proved a disaster.
Abdullah, the son of merchant Sulayman who marries with Mayya, is an important character of the novel. Rather half of the novel is narrated by Abdullah in first person. His father earns enormous wealth, in slave trade. Abdullah is haunted by the memories of his past. He suffered persecution at the hands of his father. Every now and then, the shadow of his turbulent past tears through his mind. He still vaguely remembers how his father tied him with rope and hung him upside down in a well to punish him for stealing his gun and venturing into a hunting expedition.
The Omani society depicted in this novel stands on the edge of social transformation. Everything from ways of trade and commerce to construction, learning to medicine is undergoing drastic transition. The women from the young generation start to give birth at hospitals rather than at the hands of midwives. While older women take pride in how they gave birth at home without any exposure to these Christian nurses at hospital.
The novel mainly spins around three sisters Mayya, Khawla and Asma as well as Abdullah, the son of merchant Sulayman
The real surprise comes with the birth of Abdullah’s daughter ‘London’. It becomes the most gossiped name in the town. Once Abdullah’s uncle’s wife screeches at him and says:
“Your father raised you with an iron fist and it certainly did not do any good! You can’t even raise a finger to name your own daughter, huh?”
Slavery is another major theme of the novel. It gives us an insight about how slaves are trapped, traded and treated in traditional Omani society. During worst economic crisis a sack of rice imported from India would cast one hundred coins but a slave around twenty coins.
The novel has some stark resemblance with the traditional class-ridden Baloch society. This society is not much different in its approach towards slaves and maidservants.
The language of the novel is laced with proverbs which renders it a poetic flow. We often hear old women quoting the proverb giver in their conversation but none is the case with the young and educated generation. It shows how they are breaking away from their linguistic heritage.
Overall, the novel explores Oman’s history and social dynamics in a lucid style.
Celestial Bodies has been translated in English by Marilyn Booth and has been published by Sandstone Press UK. It contains 256 pages.
The writer can be reached at [email protected]