The Book of Khalid

Tough/slow read in spots, but incredibly rewarding if you like dense literature

I'll be brief in this review and not discuss the plot but what type of person should read it. The reality is you're either going to love or despise this novel. I don't spend a great deal of time on fluff fiction, not because I don't enjoy it but because there are so many "big-lit" books which despite being a struggle are intensely rewarding. This unfortunately leads to a lot of picking-up, putting-down, and restarting novels. I like books which have a good story but the voice and writing style tends to stand equal with the content. The Book of Khalid tickled this interest in a number of ways: 1) While verbose in spots--which is likely a bi-product of Rihani's lifetime of reading Arabic literature which tends to be more flowery/poetic (hell, he was the contemporary of Gibran)--his command of the English lexicon and grammar are untouchable. I started the novel researching words I did not know as I came across them, and eventually just started a list as the depth of his vocabulary was so deep it stopped me from actually getting through the book. 2) Colored against the period and context it was written (read Rihani's Wikipedia), it provides an interesting perspective and interpretation of the early 20th century industrial US, the cultural zeitgeist of the period, and it's relation to Arab customs/ideology. 3) It's not terribly long. So many of the books I tackle are a killer my time-investment. At 320 pages, it's practically an essay compared to Wallace, Pynchon, and Joyce. If you're undecided, I recommend reading a couple excerpts. You should be able to decide fairly quickly if it's for you. Read more