Grove Atlantic, October 4, 2016.
Four Stars
The Angel of
History takes place over the course of one night,
as a writer named Jacob commits himself to a psychiatric ward. He has been
hearing voices, specifically the voices of Satan and his companion, Death. As
the night passes, Jacob recalls various incidents in his life, from his birth
in Yemen, his upbringing in an Egyptian whorehouse, and his survival of the
AIDS crisis as a gay man in San Francisco.
This novel is profoundly spiritual and philosophical,
yet it is often funny and always touching. Jacob’s life has been filled with
circumstances that would drive anyone to hear the voice of Satan, and yet he
greets this new scenario with a quirky sense of humour. The story moves around
the globe, addressing the struggle between memory and oblivion as Jacob recalls
his past.
While Jacob sits in the waiting room of the psych
ward, Satan and Death debate the state of Jacob’s soul – the structure of their
conversation is often gimmicky, but it does frame Jacob’s story nicely. As in
Alameddine’s other novels, he uses history and fable interchangeably to add
depth to the present. His use of language is astounding as always, poetic yet
accessible. The novel is heavy on religious symbolism, but it reads naturally
and does not detract from the story.
Jacob lost six close friends to the 1980s AIDS
epidemic, including his partner, and he nursed them all to the end. Devastated
by these loses, Jacob is unable to write, although we see small pieces of his
writing throughout the novel – the story he tells of his imagination as a small
boy locked away is particularly heartbreaking. Jacob’s imagery is unforgettable,
such as the party he attends in which the hosts have a “pet” Arab that they
keep in a cage. These images are shocking, topical and darkly humorous.
The Angel of
History encompasses so many subtle themes, each
worthy of consideration. Alameddine questions the accuracy and fluidity of
memory, as Jacob recreates his past. It is difficult to tell what is real and
what is imagined, as is often the case with the hallucinatory nature of memory.
Although many elements of the novel are very modern, it has a timeless feel, as
Jacob is watched by fourteen saints who bear witness to the past. Jacob’s life
is the intimate story of loss, contrasted with the epic scale of a battle with
Satan. It is a portrait of a man who has lived one crisis after another, and
come out on the other side.
I received this book from Grove Atlantic and
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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