The Philosophy of Desert Metaphors in Ibrahim Al-Koni

Book excerpt: A Tuareg by birth, Ibrahim al-Koni is no longer considered to be simply an emerging author. His works have now earned him international repute and prestigious academic recognition. Themed primarily around a desert context, his novels have been categorized as post-modern, polyphonic, magical or socialist realism, and Sufi fabula. This book takes a close look at one of al-Koni's works - The Bleeding of the Stone- and attempts to prise out philosophical reflections concealed in the text. In it the desert provides a landscape rich in allusions while metaphors allow readers to engage in creative interpretation. This is explored to the full by Meinrad Calleja in The Philosophy of Desert Metaphors in Ibrahim al-Koni - The Bleeding of the Stone.