Tears

Author's name: Mustafa Lutfi Al-Manfaluti

A collection of tragic stories, Al-Manfaluti evokes feelings of grief and sadness; you can hardly move from one story before the next becomes sadder and more miserable. The entire collection is a tragedy, most of which share the anguish of lovers, the misery of the poor, the regret of the oppressed, and the agony of the bereaved. These are truly tears that you shed while reading each story. In “The Orphan,” you see that life has been reluctant to let the two lovers meet, so death was more merciful to them. In “The Veil,” Al-Manfaluti calls for not being drawn to Western traditions. In the story “Granada,” Muslims try to preserve their religion after losing their land. Al-Manfaluti illustrates the effect of addiction on the individual, and how it leads to falling into the “abyss.” Al-Manfaluti reaches the pinnacle of tragedy, making us shed tears in our hearts when we read “The Victim,” “Marguerite’s Diary,” and “The Rest of the Diaries.” You feel as if the misery of the world has been placed on that poor Margaret.