Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online Volume 1, Issue 2 | Page 9

2/2/2016

Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online

A Bit of Air
By: Walid Taher
Translated By: Anita Husen
A Bit of Air. Austin, TX: The Center for Middle Eastern Studies. University of Texas at Austin, 2012. 136p. $16.00. ISBN:
978-0292742383.
Volume: 1 Issue: 2
June 2013
Review by
Issa J. Boullata, Phd
McGill University
Canada
This delightful little book in the series of “Emerging Voices from the Middle East” edited by Tarek el-Ariss was originally published in Arabic in
Egypt in 2008 as Habbet Hawa. Its author, Walid Taher (born in Cairo, 1969) is a well-known illustrator and writer of children’s books who has
won several awards. This is his first book that goes beyond children’s literature; it has received wide acclaim in the Arab world, as much for its
novelty as for it pointed political, social, and existential views, accompanied by illustrations, and virtually creating a new literary genre.
The book consists of a succession of brief and independent observations on life, each with a cartoon-like illustration. Simple but profound, they are
written in the Egyptian dialect. They sometimes have allusions to well-known Egyptian songs or famous sayings, but they always stir reflection.
They are presented in hand-written Arabic on the page and each has its succinct translation in English, the illustration being integral to both
adjacent texts.
The English translation has successfully tried to preserve the spirit of the colloquial Egyptian Arabic by using conversational English except where
the Arabic sometimes rises to a more formal register, and so the English follows suit. The effect is invariably a happy one in conveying the message
of Walid Taher, despite cultural differences between speakers of the two languages, differences which have been dealt with creatively by the
translator. Perhaps a few examples might be sufficient to bring home the delicacy of the translation.
On page 42 is the following Arabic text with an illustration showing a man with a sheep’s face and ears: kân nifsî/ ashûf nafsî/ mish kharûf…../
….qabli mâandibih!
On page 43 is the following English translation: I have always wished/ I could see myself/ As something other than a sheep…../ ….before my
slaughter!
This is an image of an Egyptian human being who knows he will be sacrificed like a sheep by those in authority, but who wishes he could see
himself as a real person with human and civil rights before that.
On page 78 is the following Arabic text with an illustration showing a man running and looking behind him in fear: garayt astakhbîmin qadarî/
laqayt il-makhba’…huwwa qadarî!!
On page 79 is the following English translation: I ran for shelter from my fate/ Only to find that the shelter….is my fate!!
This is an image of an Egyptian man who tries to run away from his fate in difficult circumstances and finds that there is no escape from it.
On page 128 is an Arabic text with an illustration showing a man with a tail, sitting happily at a table with a drink, and singing: ayh qîmat abqâ
husanan gamîlan/ bassi marbût…./ aw nisr ‘azîm mûhannat..mahtût/ lâ ya ‘ammi.. khalîni zayy maanâ / qird maghûl…/ bass mabsût !
On page 129 is the follo