Welcome to Litsy!

I finished reading this today, sat in the sunshine in the back garden, with a salad bowl to fuel the exercise.
I loved Nizami's descriptions of nature, usually counterpointing Majnun's misery and travail at his separation from Layla. There were times when he seemed narcissistic in his obsession, and I was surprised that Nizami in 12th C ce addressed this. I enjoyed the blending of folklore, spirituality and philosophy, and smattering of verse 4.5*

"Whatever befalls us has its meaning; though it is often hard to grasp. In the Book of Life every page has two sides. On the upper one, we inscribe our plans, dreams and hopes; the reverse is filled by providence, whose verdicts rarely match our desire."

"Though parted our two loving souls combine,
For mine is all your own and yours is mine.
Two riddles to the world we represent,
One answer each the other's deep lament.
But if our parting severs us in two,
One radiant light envelops me and you,
As from another world - though blocked and barred
What there is one, down here is forced apart.
Yet if despairing bodies separate,
Souls freely wander and communicate.”

"What is a human life after all? Whether it endures for a brief spell or longer - even if it could last a thousand years; take it as a breath of air merging into eternity. From the beginning, life bears death's signature; they are brothers in the secret play of their eyes. For how long then do you want to deceive yourself? For how long will you refuse to see yourself as you are and as you will be? ??

"Is Majnun not the black star, a vagrant tormented by love?"

#booksandbowie

"Even if we do not like to show our weakness to the world, we should have friends, genuine and true like mirrors, clearly revealing our faults so that we can face and cure them. Let me be your mirror."

I couldn't help but think of Lou Reed's song, "I'll Be Your Mirror" from the first Velvet Underground album when I read this passage in "Layla and Majnun" ❤

This 12th century C.E. Persian story of doomed love was described by Byron as "the 'Romeo and Juliet' of the East", though it might more fittingly be attributed in the reverse. I've only just started it, but it also seems to have resonance with other star-crossed lovers: Lancelot's madness over Guinevere, and the correspondence between the separated Abelard and Héloïse. ??

"What today we mistake for a padlock, keeping us out, we may tomorrow find to be the key that lets us in."

Day 1 #marchintoreading #marchtbr Hope to complete Han Kang today. I'm really excited about Nizami--a classic 12th century tragic love story about the Romeo and Juliet of Iran. Till today, the names Layla-Majnun are uttered in the same breath when speaking about star-crossed lovers (in my part of the world anyway). Maya Angelou and Assata Shakur's books are otw from BookDepository. Lindqvist is a book club pick!