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Book Review: “Saeed The Fisherman”

If one is interested in casually visiting 19th century Arabia, this book is a must-read that will take its reader on an emotional roller coaster where one keeps falling in and out of love with Saeed, the fisherman, the Joker and the Devil. The novel also throws some light on the socio-political landscape of that time and the coexistence of Christians and Muslims, their prejudices and reservations.

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Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall is mainly popular for his English translation of the Quran, ‘The Meaning of the Glorious Quran’, his Magnus opus. He was one of the greatest novelists of his time, but his literary contributions are largely forgotten. Apart from the translation of the Quran, his other works have not gained much popularity. ‘Saeed The Fisherman’ is one of those forgotten works, although it draws praises from D.H. Lawrence, H.G. Wells, and E.M. Forster, who have placed Pickthall on a high pedestal. This acknowledgment establishes Pickthall as a literary genius.

His 19th-century novel, “Saeed The Fisherman,” has been revised keeping in mind 21st-century readers and their racial and political sensibilities. The revised edition has been possible due to the efforts of Shayma S, the editor of the book, and White Dot Publishers, who have published it to reach a wider audience.

Saeed The Fisherman takes us straight to the 19th-century Arab world, teleporting us into a space and time which we can never visit physically. Pickthall has lived a good time in the Middle East and has absorbed the cultural nitty-gritty so well that he passes them off as his own. The story revolves around the whims and fancies of the central character, Saeed. Pickthall creates such magic with his words that the reader somewhere becomes Saeed and experiences the whole journey at close quarters. He skillfully adapts the western genre to an eastern setting. It’s a surreal ride into the fancies and delusions of an over-enthusiastic mind who wants to become Saeed Affendi, from Saeed the fisherman. As he journeys through his dreams and schemes, he takes us along through the alleys of the desert, outlandish taverns and exuberant human beings.

The book is divided into two parts. The first half is the story of Saeed’s luck. It opens with the Quranic verse ” Some of them made a covenant with Allah: “If Allah gives us out of His bounty, we will give alms and act righteously.” While its architecture is actually a reflection of the verse that follows “Yet when He gave them of His bounty, they hoarded it and turned away,” a verse which is not quoted in the book but is portrayed in the character of Saeed. Plagued with lust for wealth and women, Saeed invests all his energies in hoarding more and more wealth. In the pursuit of becoming rich and powerful, he becomes corrupt and dishonest, even to the most loyal of his people. Here, Pickthall strikes the delicate chord of human concine and mentions the hollowness and bouts of remorse that Saeed experiences occasionally.

The portrayal of human emotions is so raw and unfiltered that Pickrhall actually ends up personifying them. All throughout the book, there is a constant bad omen that keeps haunting Saeed, which Saeed considers as the major reason behind many of his misfortunes. But, as we engage with the character we discover that these nightmares were actually the demons of his own creation, something that reminds us of the blood on the hands of Macbeth.

In the second half of the novel, Saeed’s life comes full circle. His Journeys across the Arab world and the west come to square one. These expeditions leave Saeed totally exhausted and devastated. The beginning of greed and self-obsession comes to a catastrophic end where he is at a complete loss when others around him are at peace with their lives.

The book does not describe Saeed as a hero who is perfect in all senses. Instead, he is described as someone who is full of greed and lust and is a total scoundrel. Though he is regular with his routine prayers, he is involved in all sorts of illegal means to earn money by lying and deceiving people. Despite his hypocritical nature, Saeed aspired to be known as a pious Muslim with a respectable position in the eyes of the public. It is this conflict of mind that the author tries to invoke subtly at every transition in the novel.

Pickthall has a peculiar way of writing details where he puts life into the mundane. The environment, the people, their meals, their curses, and prayers are described in such a way that the reader cannot help but notice the nuance. At one such place, after riding in the heat, Saeed is drawn to the cry of a vendor who was selling iced drinks. The vendor was seeking the attention of the passers-by with these words: “O snow of the mountain! How pure art thou, and how cold! O juice of the lemon! How refreshing when mingled cunningly with sugar as in my bottle! O drink of paradise, who could refuse you? May Allah have pity on him who drinks not of this cup!”

Pickthall’s style matches that of Dickinson’s when it comes to humor. The exuberant oaths and curses spanning throughout the book at times create ironic situations. For instance, when Mustafa the beggar, Saeed’s adopted father, dies before disclosing the whereabouts of the treasure he has promised Saeed, he vents out his frustration in these words: “May Allah cut short his life,” he panted. “Who but a madman would have left our wealth thus exposed?” According to the Prophet, it is lucky that I alone was at hand to hear his last cry. May his house be destroyed. “Peace be to him,” he added as an afterthought.

The novel also throws some light on the socio-political landscape of that time and the coexistence of Christians and Muslims, their prejudices and reservations. As the book draws to an end, the reader can actually get inside Saeed, who is broken and devastated after all his ventures have failed. It’s noteworthy how remarkably Pickthall takes us inside the traumatized mind of his protagonist.

If one is interested in casually visiting 19th century Arabia, this book is a must-read that will take its reader on an emotional roller coaster where one keeps falling in and out of love with Saeed, the fisherman, the joker and the devil.

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