The Calligraphers' Night

The kind people at Hesperus Press sent me a copy of Yasmine Ghata's The Calligraphers' Night for possible review.  It's wonderful when the right book can be matched up with the right reader (if you recall I recently posted about art and literature crossing paths--a favorite subject of mine lately).  This slim novel of just over 100 pages traverses the life of calligrapher Rikkat Kunt.  The story is lyrically told.  It has an almost dreamlike quality to it, weaving elements of magical realism into the story of Ghata's real-life grandmother who the novel is based on.

"I passed away on the 26th of April 1986, at the age of eighty-three".  Thus begins Rikkat's story.  "My death was as gentle as the tip of the reed dipping its fibres in the inkpot, swifter than than the ink being drunk by the paper.  I took care not to leave any mess behind me; I tidied away my life and my calligraphic instruments."  In a sense not a lot happens in this novel.  Yet an entire life is lived within its pages.  Rikkat is a calligrapher, practicing her art at a time when Turkey was becoming more secular.  No longer would the Turkish language be formed using arabic letters.  The calligrapher's language was the language of God or at least of the Koran, and now they would be thrust aside.

Not only does Rikkat narrate her story from the dead, but the dead talk to her while she is alive.  Her mentor, Selim, bequests his calligraphic tools to her after his suicide.  And it is through them and with his urging that she grows as a calligrapher.  Her passion for the art guides her through her troubles and turmoils.  She must endure two failed marriages and the loss of her second son when his father takes him away.  It is only many years later when they are reunited.  Through it all she has her art.

There is something of the calligrapher's arabesque to the story.  Ghata's prose flows and meanders, it swirls like the motifs Rikkat lays on the page with her brush. 

"My eyes close.  The meanders swallow me up, the labyrinths bring me back to the surface.  The zigzags, scrolls and spirals restore me to my life, to the happy and unhappy events in it.  In the twinkling of an eye I recognise the path I have trodden; it is difficult to get away from these figures.  Calligraphers are not free; escaping from a network of shapes is the same as disobeying the Most Great.  Where are my lines taking me?  My hand comes to a halt at the edge of the page; I will never know the rest."

This book was a wonderful little find for me.  I loved the intertwining of art and life to tell the story.  I imagine for an artist your art just melds with everything else in your life--they can't be separated.  I think for Rakkat it was only her success as a calligrapher (or the burning desire to create) that made up for the failures in other aspects of her life.  I wonder what other hidden treasures I can find amongst the other titles in the Hesperus catalogue?  And just in case you are curious (I am fascinated by jacket design, so I had to ask the publisher), those boxlike structures on the cover are groynes, which are used to stop coastal erosion.  They sound very utilitarian, but isn't the photo dreamy and atmospheric.  It seems quite fitting for the story!

Comments

[Matt]

"It has an almost dreamlike quality to it, weaving elements of magical realism into the story of Ghata's real-life grandmother who the novel is based on."

Sounds very much like the style with with The Hummingbird's Daughter is written.

I find it interesting to read something narrated by a dead person. That way the novel is allowed a wider perspective in story-telling. I need to check it out!

[Danielle]

Matt--I am going to have to check out The Hummingbird's Daughter, I see! I really hadn't encountered a narrator telling a story after death, but now this is the second book in a month that has been told this way. The Penelopiad was the same way.

[Isa]

I think that Bookgirl.net is/was reading the Hummingbird's Daughter.

Please submit this review to their website. It's great.

How are you getting the books from Hesperus? Do you contact the Vermont distributor or are you ordering it through work?

[Isabel]

we need to form a group like dovegreyreaders for Hesperus books.

[Danielle]

Isabel--I think Iliana also read The Hummingbird's Daughte as well! From what I recall she also liked it--yet another reason to pick it up. Actually I ordered a couple from The Book Depository (which is in the UK, but they offer free shipping, so it isn't that expensive). As it turns out Amazon stocks at least some of them (and I bet they also discount them). I have heard from other readers that they have also seen them on bookstore shelves. A group devoted to Hesperus books would be fun.

[Imani]

Here's another vote for "The Hummingbird's Daughter" -- it manages to be epic and intimate at the same time, and a lot of fun to read overall.

[Stefanie]

I've been wondering about this book and it sounds like the story as is beautiful as the cover. And thanks for finding out what the things on the cover are, I've been wondering that too!

[Ted]

wonderful review!
I feel like I know just what you mean about 'crossing paths.' In a way I think every artistic creation is not so much the work itself but this marriage of artwork and audience, and great or resonant works are those where the artist is most successful at encouraging, allowing, coercing the audience in.

[Dorothy W.]

Great review! This IS the book for you, isn't it, with everything it says about art?

[iliana]

Another book for the list! Sounds wonderful. Actually I am waiting for my copy of the Hesperus Press catalog so I'm sure I'll have to place a little order :) And, yes, I did read Hummingbird's Daughter. It's wonderful. Perhaps one of my favorite books of the year so far. I still need to blog about it.

[Max]

It does sound like a wonderful little book - and lucky you, getting sent it for a possible review!

[Ellie Robins]

Thanks for the lovely review, Danielle - would you mind if I reproduced it in the next issue of our online magazine? I'm so glad you enjoyed the book; I'm fascinated by the relationship between art and literature too, so this one was a particular favourite of mine. Thank you also for asking what the cover image was of - I'd actually never thought to ask!

To those wondering about how they can get hold of our books in the US - we are represented in America by the Independent Publishers group, whose website is at www.ipgbook.com. Alternatively, a good proportion of our books are stocked by either Amazon or The Book Depository, and there's an online buying facility on our website at www.hesperuspress.com.

Thanks again for all the kind words Danielle!

Ellie Robins, Hesperus Press

[Christine]

This books sounds wonderful! And after reading Iliana's talk about Heperus and now yours, I really must order something!

[tanabata]

It sounds wonderful! I gave in and ordered the hardback a few days ago. Looking forward to it. A Hesperus group blog or something would be fun.

[Danielle]

Imani--I can see I am going to have to look for this one next time I go to the bookstore!
Stefanie--I would never have guessed what those things were--someone was a very skilled photographer to get that misty sort of look!
Ted--I think you're right. It's a successful work when the reader becomes part of it--or in the case of physical artwork--the viewer becomes part of it.
Dorothy--I think I could understand her desire to create--there was almost nothing else quite as important to her.
Iliana--I have been dragging my catalogue with me in my bookbag--planning out my future purchases!! Please do write what you thought of The Hummingbird's Daughter. I keep hearing good things about it.
Max--Yes-it was very generous of the publisher, of course now I am hooked on these books.
Ellie--Please feel free to use it in your next online magazine--I have enjoyed looking through them! I plan on looking for them here locally as others have told me they are indeed in US bookstores. I have also seen them online--so glad they are readily available over here! And I really do love that jacket photo--whoever chose it did a great job--it fits nicely with the tone of the book!
Christine--You should ask for a catalogue! They are a nice press--I am growing to like smaller presses more and more these days.
Tanabata--I think you will really like the hardcover. It is such a nice size--fits nicely in the hand and well made. I wouldn't mind getting these books in cloth at all--usually I prefer paperbacks due to space issues--but these are nice and slim and would fit well on my shelves. It would be fun to have a group like the online yahoo group that is devoted to Persephone books!

[Carl V.]

This is another that sounds like one I would enjoy. Great book! I love coming over here to find new treasures.

[sam]

Life begins at conception, at birth