V drunk a war, it changes a soldier. Living a civil war, things change very likely anyone. Living ten years, twenty years of civil war, I can not imagine what it can do on the mind human. From Beirut to war in the 1980s, I had read or seen that practically stories outside by journalists, analysts say. Or some internal evidence, but generally "Warriors".
With De Niro's Game of Rawi Hage (Denoƫl editions, collection Folio, 2008, ISBN 978-2-07-040251-9), is a different vision of Beirut war that I discovered. That of everyday life, family ties and neighborhood quarrels, joints between friends and boyfriends watched, the shop at the corner and siphoning gas. This, too, of families separated between East and West Beirut Beirut, Beirut-exile. That naps on the roofs of houses and hours of anguish in basement shelters. That of bombs that punctuate the day, life.
Beirut systematic bleeding by militias who bully, extort, and therefore leaders, murderers and corrupt spineless, live like princes. Beirut hope and despair, Beirut where you want to stay or you want to leave for somewhere else better. But this also does is it really better? Leaving Beirut cookie is there with you throughout this city, this war? Rawi Hage's novel is rich. Rich language (I can not wait to read the original version, but I welcome the translation of Sophie Voillot), rich characters, rich in emotions. Rich winks, too, the film by Michael Cimino Journey to the End of hell (The Deer Hunter , 1978) to which the title and a scene of the novel (Russian roulette) refer directly, and Apocalypse Now (1979) by Francis Ford Coppola (the enemy militias shooting himself over almost blindly in hurling insults), two films about the contemporary period as a framework to the book.
To say more would rob you of pleasure to read this book if you have not read it yet. A five star thriller, one of the most gripping I have ever read a long time.
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