On the Bleeding of the Stone

I will start off by saying that I absolutely loved this book. I had never read a piece of Libyan literature—let alone Saharan literature—before this piece, and I was blown away by it. In summary, this book is about a man named Asouf who is a goat-herder in the deserts of Fezzan, Libya. Born an only child, he was taught by his father and mother how to hunt wildlife while maintaining a delicate balance between human concerns and the natural world. The most difficult animal to hunt, however, is the waddan (or Barbary Sheep)—a creature of great mystical value in Asouf’s worldview.

Over the course of his life, more tourists (primarily Italians, but other Europeans) come down to visit the wadis of Libya to pay homage to its majestic beauty. One day, two “tourists” arrive, but it turns out that they aren’t tourists at all. They are serial hunters and are in large part responsible for the near extinction of gazelles in Northern Libya. Yet, these two men do not look to hunt gazelles near Asouf’s home. Instead, they seek the famous waddan.

At the most material level, this is a work about conservation and the importance of balance in desert-life. This emphasis can be extended further, to a global level. Indeed, humans are—in large part—responsible for the “Sixth Great Extinction.” On a deeper level, this is a text about spirituality from a Sufist perspective. To al-Koni and his most sympathetic characters, God is in all of us and we are capable of anything through faith, patience, and perseverance.

As far as I can tell, al-Koni is a famous and well-respected Libyan literary figure, but he does not seem to have a strong reputation in the Anglophone world or (as far as I can tell) the Francophone world. This is a shame, as al-Koni’s translated work is lucid, powerful, and belongs alongside figures like Paulo Coelho and Gabriel Garcia Marquez at bookstores throughout the United States.