4 - 10 June 1998
Issue No.380
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 4 - 10 June 1998 Issue No.380 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Through an hourglass
French influence on contemporary Arab culture is by no means limited to the domain of literature. Jacques Lalande, the world-renowned French thinker, one of the most brilliant philosophers of the '20s and '30s, and editor of the prestigious dictionary of philosophy which bears his name, was my philosophy professor.
France had offered this illustrious professor, among others, to Egypt when King Fouad visited Europe in 1925. The department of philosophy was a French department. The French staff received their salaries from the Sorbonne in Paris, while the Egyptian government paid them a stipend. Personally, however, I was most profoundly influenced by Marcel Proust's masterpiece, A la Recherche du Temps Perdu, one of the supreme achievements of world literature. After its publication, the world literary scene was changed forever. The book, an allegorical search for truth, offers a picture of a fantastical world, but one needs a great deal of perseverance to read all five thousand pages. Strangely enough, at the end, the author invites the reader to have another go at the book -- start at the beginning again. And the very last word gives the clue to understanding its events. Unfortunately, I did not venture to follow the author's advice. Even for someone as passionate about literature as I am, life is too short for that. Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy. |