Product Description

An exploration of myth, passion and loyalty from the Lebanon's troubled past, The Rock of Tanios is another superbly rich and rewarding novel from the author of Samarkand and Leo the African. Expertly controlling his multi-faceted narrative with prose of great beauty and power, Maalouf delves into the history of an extraordinary life: that of Tanois, child of the mountains.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39620 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-07
• Original language: French
• Binding: Paperback
• 275 pages

Review
'He is a master storyteller...and his observations of human nature in all its facets is wonderfully accurate throughout.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'This is as colourful as a fairy tale, and brilliantly translated from the French.' THE TIMES 'Told with the simplicity of fable but set on the cusp of the modern world, this is a wonderful tale.' INDEPENDENT 'This is a beautifully crafted story detailing the intricacies of the folklores and superstitions which dominated nineteenth-century Oriental village life.' OBSERVER

About the Author
Amin Maalouf is a Lebanese journalist and writer. He was formerly director of the weekly international edition of the leading Beirut daily an-Nahar, and editor in chief of Jeune Afrique.

Customer Reviews

A lyrical, hauntýng story of great depth and beauty
This is one of those magical books in which, on almost every page, there is a sentence or turn of phrase that literally makes you catch your breath. The superb craftmanship of the writing of this book is admirable, but it is the unforced eloquence of the story that enchanted me. I was actually disappointed when it ended...despite the grace and strength of his other works, I feel strongly that this is--so far!-his masterpiece.

Fantastic fiction
As an avid reader of Amin Maalouf's work anyway, I was really looking forward to reading The Rock of Tanios when it came out. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself far more impressed by this book than any of his others.
The book tells the story of a small Lebanese village where the Sheikh is the master who must be obeyed. His son (or is he? read it to find out) Tanios rebels against the system and suddenly disappears. But what has happened to him? No one knows, but his name is made famous by his disappearance.
Years later scholars try to find out what happened.
Don't take my word for it. Read it. It's great. If you're interested in the Middle East you'll love this book.

Sensitive, touching and compulsive reading
For the first time, Amin Maalouf talks about his home country, Lebanon. He does it without even mentioning its name but with great sensitivity. Less history oriented than his former books but very touching. I couldn't put it down before getting to the end.