The Proof of the Honey

Book excerpt: Banned in many Arab countries and where it was not, an instant bestseller, The Proof of the Honey is a superb celebration of female pleasure—a tribute to sex, eroticism, language and liberty. "I conjure bodies," claims the narrator of this daring novel. "I have no knowledge of my soul or of the souls of others. I know only my body and theirs. Which is enough for me." She is a Syrian scholar working in a research library in Paris. An invitation to contribute to a conference on the subject of classic erotic literature in Arabic provides occasion for her to evoke memories from her own life, to exult in her personal liberty, her lovers, her desires, and to revisit moments of shared intimacy with other women as they discuss life, love, and sexual desire. Far more than an erotic novel, The Proof of the Honey offers a surprising and illuminating glimpse into the realities of contemporary Arab societies. It is likewise a voyage through the history of Arabic literature: borrowing inspiration from The Thousand and One Nights, erudite asides are woven into the fabric of the protagonist's story and the stories of her lovers. Affirming that "Arabic is the language of sex," and making desire the source of her own personal liberty, Al Neimi has written a stirring novel about the place afforded sex in modern Arabic society and its relationship to the long, rich tradition of Arabic erotica.