Masayuki Yamauchi reviews “The blue pen” ((Planet of Clay) by Samar Yazbek for News Post Seven, on July 11th, 2024
The tragedy of the Syrian civil war tends to be forgotten, overshadowed by the Gaza War. Samar Yazbek has crafted a psychological novel that intricately explores the complexities of the Syrian civil war, using the incident where President Assad attacked opposition citizens with poison gas as a backdrop.
The protagonist is a woman with the strange habit of walking endlessly when given the freedom to do so. Despite difficulties with ordinary conversation, she possesses the unique talent of being able to recite the Qur’an from memory. Her rich intelligence and feminine artistic sensibility, inspired by literary works such as The Little Prince and Kalila and Dimna, are unforgettable.
The protagonist’s personality likely reflects the author’s broad knowledge and experience. The various facets of the Syrian revolution are conveyed through multi-dimensional depictions of checkpoints, hospital prisons, bombing of residential areas, and protection against chemical substances.
The central themes of the book are hunger, fear, and death. According to the protagonist, once the act of eating is completed, hunger ends and is rarely recalled. However, fear is circular, with no beginning or end.
“The circle of fear has its center in your feet and envelops you from all sides, ending deep in your belly.” The description of fear as a “hot liquid flowing as urine” could only be written by someone who has internalized such terror.
On the other hand, after a chemical weapons attack, the protagonist tries to comprehend death and farewell while swimming in water alongside a pile of women’s corpses that emit a “strange smell” and “bad odor” lingering in her nose.
In a basement where only flies and herself remain, having spent weeks unbeknownst to her, she recalls the memory of a red apple given by a young man with whom she shared mutual affection, while suffering from hunger and thirst.