A Book of Understanding,
Vol. I
The Child’s Scribble
By
Layla Yousif
Contemplative, thought provoking poetry & poetic prose that ‘knocks on all the doors of life with a moral & philosophical insight'.
As the subtitle, A Book of Understanding, suggests, The Sack is a profound approach to life. In fact, it is a complete theory of life derived from the beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians, the tail of a pre-spiritual life, as this book reveals. It is divided into two volumes, The Child’s Scribble and On The Way To Reality; the first is poetry, paving the way for the other, which is in detailed illustrated prose. By introducing the two faces of The Sack, the author is sowing the seed of reviving the rich works of the early Arabic scholars known as `encyclopaedic’: ‘The world is thirsty for such a book of everything to revive the all in one Word of Truth.’ That ‘Word of Truth’ is the jewel which The Sack is set to explore.
The first volume, The Child’s Scribble, is divided into three parts, and each part is further divided into three chapters joined by preludes in a moving, passionate poetic prose style, a unique feature of that creative work. The preludes are ‘the narrator’ that connects the parts with the running theme of the world’s brain which suffocates the heart pulse, thus, creating a lively structure.
The Child’s Scribble covers a collection of topics which concern and touch everyone in all societies, such as evolution: ‘The dim light of Darwin's microscope did not reach beyond the front door.’, death: ‘The World is a chain linked with the death stain.’, crime: ‘Let’s pray for the girl whose name is Michelle …’, Reality: ‘I want to see The Hand, not the handwriting, which must have started a scribble of a child', and Feminism, although the author calls for a ‘New Feminism’ to take it back to its mainstream. The author also repeatedly calls for peace: ‘Why do we fight when no one is safe?’, love: ‘Even the sea died in a world thirsty for a drop of life’, and universality: ‘From the black and white, and their blend child, we all came’.
As for the style, it is lively and passionate with detailed thought provoking introduction and footnotes. The rotation between poetry and poetic prose creates a dancing pulse like that of the waves: ‘Dancing on paper is what writing to me means’.
The Sack makes you laugh and cry as you think and see life ‘with a different eye’, and ‘sincere’ is the one word that describes it. It is a joy for the heart and a light for the mind; it opens up our true eyes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Layla Yousif is a journalist, a poet and a linguist originally from Egypt. She moved to London in the seventies, then retreated to Canterbury in the early nineties. Since then, she has been contemplating The Sack, as well as Dreamland Test, which is an extensive research about Reality, the author’s obsessive theme. Her work has been published in literary and women’s magazines and international newspapers. She has also participated in The Family Programme on the BBC Arabic Service in the late eighties. It was her literary argument in the mid-eighties about women's rights and one of the eminent figures in Arabic literature who died in the seventies, A. M. ElAaqqaad, which brought her name to the light.
In brief, Layla Yousif is a distinct courageous voice that has something new, rich, interesting and, above all, witty to say.
Published: December, 2009 Price: £9.99
ISBN: 9780955812507
For an author interview or a review copy of the book, contact
The MoonBooks Tel.: 0044+(0)7799735562
Email: themoonbooksthesack@googlemail.com
Website: http://sites.google.com/site/themoonbooksthesack/.
In brief, Layla Yousif is a distinct courageous voice that has something new, rich, interesting and, above all, witty to say.
Published: December, 2009 Price: £9.99
ISBN: 9780955812507
For an author interview or a review copy of the book, contact
The MoonBooks Tel.: 0044+(0)7799735562
Email: themoonbooksthesack@googlemail.com
Website: http://sites.google.com/site/themoonbooksthesack/.
