Synopses & Reviews
The search for the origins of a forgotten sacred poem is at the heart of this novel about a modern Brazilian poet of Lebanese descent who travels to the Middle East to uncover the truth about what he believes may be part of a group of pre-Islamic poems. Following the model of A Thousand and One Nights, the novel is a quest through time and language that recounts many of the poet's experiences as he travels through the deserts of Arabia in search of a beautiful woman whose beauty remains hidden until the circularity of the riddle of Qaf is solved.
Review
"Elaborately structured . . . gloriously tongue-in-cheek and great fun." New Internationalist
About the Author
Alberto Mussa is a former lecturer in pre-Islamic poetry at the University of Rio de Janeiro, the author of three books in Portuguese, and a linguist who has studied several African languages, including Yoruba and Arabic.