Ever seeking and mostly never finding the double-digit thousands of missing persons from the years of civil war in Lebanon are overwhelming statistics to us, but a never-ending heartbreak to the loved ones of the missing. Reading this work of Historical Fiction that packs punches of accuracy according to stark facts, at this time of current events with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is almost too overwhelmingly poignant to handle. Yet this story had to be told.
As author Pierre Jarawan tightly weaves his words in this Song for the Missing, that fear, anxiety, confusion of bewildering thoughts and stories weave a canvas and kaleidoscope of unsettlement, hinged around a cherished-by-Grandmother painting, which the main character Amin's mother had painted to ironic perfection. Amins' parents were killed in a freak car accident, at least so he was told. The Grandmother Yara raised Amin taking him to Germany when he was about nine months old and for about twelve years lived and waited out in that foreign land; away from the conflicts, away from the mysteriouly ominous disappearances of the many whisked away at seemingly random times, places, and for mostly unknown reasons.
When Grandmother Yara returns with Amin to Lebanon, she is almost a whole new personage. Amin tries to piece all these puzzling pieces together. What happened here in Lebanon in those away years. Digging the facts out from all the ruin and rubble of Beirut and Tripoli was more or less a useless frustrating pursuit, as bad as trying to find all those missing persons. Why? Why? Why did Grandmother and her friends behave the way they did, almost like a secret society? What were they actually doing? What drew this motley lot of them together? Why did Grandmother paint those pictures and insist on leaving them detrimentally up on the walls of the cafe?
Abbas, another 'friend' was a stalwart constant in their lives in Germany as well as Lebanon. What was his role in all of this? Jafar, someone Amin met at school, became a bosom friend for fun adventures and storytelling but also a sort of tour guide through the destruction and debris. Despite their strong bond they never quite opened up their minds to each other. How could Jafar do that anyway? He was the one who had experienced and suffered firsthand through all the nightmares of war, not Amin. They were like from two completely different worlds.
The art of storytelling was a big feature in this book and even perhaps part and parcel of the Lebanese fabric and culture. Due to all the unrest and uncertain times, there was fear of losing this art that one man especially, wished to hang on to.
From this story I now have a little better understanding of those conflicts I heard about whilst growing up; of the lies and lure of war; of the horrendous devastation of war not just of the buildings but of the people and their shredded emotions.
The author gives some further brief notes along with his references at the book's end that are helpful and can guide the readers to further investigation of the conflict on their own. Due to the nature and topic of this book, it was not an easy one to read but I believe it should be read, the story told and hopefully the Lebanon lessons learned. Thanks go to Mr. Pierre Jarawan for this book!
~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~
March 2022
Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the review copy sent by NetGalley and the publisher.
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