"In my native village, the rocks have name." The first sentence of the novel is captivating enough to initiate the reading of the novel. So far, I sincerely think that the novel is great! Many aspects in the novel allow me to believe so…
Firstly, the fact that the book is settled around a village in Lebanon is an advantage to it. Due to its setting, all the reference and traditions are familiar to me. On page 48, it is mentioned that all the village women had 'their hands deep in the cinnamon and caraway … preparing the meghli in honor of the newborn son.' This custom is well-known in Lebanon, let alone all other Middle Eastern countries. As a result, it is easy to make the cultural connection between my everyday life and that spoken of in the novel.
The characters are very interesting. The author makes them seem to be three dimensional. We, as readers, are able to visualize how they might look and understand their personality with their flaws. It is evident how feudalism affects the lives of the people there and how each person has their "position" in society.
Personally, I got carried away with the novel. I was extremely anxious to find of whom in truth the father of Tanios was. Even though it isn't clearly stated in the novel whether it is Gerious or the Sheikh, there are many reasons to justify why it is most probably the Sheikh. Page 34 says, 'She [Lamia] smiled. And so he shared with her all the September fruits.' Even though it is not evident, it is most likely to be a reference to sexual intercourse, especially because the timing was perfect. Gerious was away on a task the Sheikh had sent him on, they were alone in the castle, and soon after we find out that Lamia is pregnant. So, it is just a matter of filling in the blanks.
The Rock of Tanios is truly a page turner. In some ways it reminded me when reading Midaq Alley. They both explain the sociology of human nature, even though in different time periods. The novel has a lot of hidden meaning. To a certain extent it explains the history of Lebanon, the role of religion and feudalism on the people, and the culture of Lebanon at the time. It is all a matter of reading between the lines.
