The Bleeding of the Stone

This is a very unique book to me. For my African Literature class I never thought that I would be reading a book that was written with a Muslim background. I sadly never thought that there were any Muslims in Africa. But that shows you just how much we use stereotypes. Now that I have read the book I am happy to say that I learned something new.

The Bleeding of the Stone is a simple tale by one of Libya's foremost novelists has the power and qualities of a myth, blending elements of magical realism, mysticism and politics. The book uses what we could call magical realism. On the other hand, when it comes to the historical and spiritual aspects behind the book, other people may not see anything magical about it. Some people may see all of the things that the author Ibrahim al-Koni, writes about as reality, not magical.

The Author writes about a Bedouin Muslim herdsman who lives alone in the rugged mountain desert of southern Libya. Asouf, the main character lives a life which many American’s would call a life of isolation. He lives his life like this because his father taught him the need for patience and the necessity of avoiding other humans because of their evil. Through out the book Asouf, deals with many interesting characters.

One of the main characters being the THE WADDAN OR MOUFFLON is a wild mountain sheep with large curling horns that survives in the remote desert of southern Libya but is extinct in Europe. It is the oldest animal in the Sahara and has been associated in local myth with pagan gods and sacred rituals. This character plays such a huge role in the novel. Though it is only an animal, the majority of the story is based around this animal and its relationship with the main character.

Asouf struggles through out the novel with different issues of his own based off of his beliefs and morals. I like him because even though his beliefs are very different then mine he is still human. He struggles with things the good and bad in his life and anyone reading this book in some way should be able to relate to him.