“The Darker Side of the Moon” - A Short Story by Riham Adly - first published in The Alexandrian - 2014

This is the first of a series of posts I’m planning on the wonderful short stories of Riham Adly

Click here to resd “The Darker Side of The Moon” by Riham Adly

Riham Adly known as Rose among friends is a published author  and a creative writing instructor from Gizah, Egypt. Several of her short stories were published in international online literary journals and websites.

 Riham is also first reader/ marketing coordinator in "Vestal Review" literary magazine.

 Riham moderates "Roses's Cairo Book Club" in the American University in Cairo Tahrir Campus each month for those few yet growing avid bibliophiles.

Riham has also started her own writing group on FB "Rose's Fiction Writing Club" to motivate her students to keep on writing and sharing their work with emerging and aspiring writers from around the world. . Data from Author

“The Darker Side of the Moon” is a very moving story about the power of Love to transform lives, generational and Cultural conflict, and the fate of innocent millions of Syrians who through no fault of their own are going to be bombed by the American military.  It is a deep story about the powerful good in truly experienced art, in this case the music of Beethoven and about the rulers of   The World who care only for wealth and power, hiding behind ideology for their gain.

As the story opens a young American man is nervously anticipating performing with his fiance at a grand musical concert, a benefit for Syria regugees, displaced by American Bombing raids.  His father is a high ranking American military Officer, his mother an American senator. He knows his father is about to order a massive bombing raid.  Part of him wants to reveal the coming raid but he fears his father’s reaction, he would be labeled a traitor.His father is very angry with his son, telling him leave Egypt and come home “Or else”.  He wonders how his father will react when he learns he has converted in religion and will marry a Syrian woman..        

The couple will be preforming The Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig Beethoven.  In an exchange of E mail, Riham Adly told me why she picked this work:

                                                        

“When I wrote "The Darker Side of The Moon" I was also trying to try the musical fiction genre where protagonists are musicians and music or music theory is used to highlight the mood and atmosphere of the story and also show inner conflict of the main character and tension throughout the piece. I picked the Moonlight Sonata specifically not just because its movements mirror the rising conflict the character goes through, but because of its history, as Beethoven was also going through a failed or challenging love affair.”

There is much to ponder in the story.  Is the young man just infatuated or has he undergone a deep conversion of values?  How will he live, will his in laws accept him?  We can wonder why some loyalties outweigh others.  

I felt the excitement as the concert begins, struggled to decide how we are to understand the young men’s life chancing decision.  

This is a very good story I endorse to all lovers of the form. I look forward to reading more of her work.

Mel u

Naguib Mahfouz-نجيب محفوظ-"The Norwegian Rat"

"The Norwegian Rat" by Naguib Mahfouz (1962, 5 pages)

A Short Story by Nobel Prize Winner

from Egypt

Naguib Mahfouz (1911 to 2006-Cairo, Egypt) won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988.    He is so far the only Egyptian to have won this award.   He produced a number of novels, essays, and short stories.    He was primarily a historical novelist using as his theme the full history of Egypt.   While maintaining a strict adherence to the tenants of his Muslim faith,  his work was considered a criticism of the corruption in the government and society of contemporary Egypt.    (You can read more about his life, work, and influence HERE)

"The Norwegian Rat"   reads like a story that could have been written by George Orwell.      The only real characters in the story (it is not a character development story) are a husband and wife living in a big city.    We are not told where they live and the story could be set in any big city world.   In his The Lonely Voice-A Study in the Short Story, Frank O'Connor says that when he taught creative writing he would tell his students that a good short story could be set anywhere.   

As the story opens the citizens of the city are being advised that the government fears there will be an invasion of Norwegian rats.   The citizens are advised of the precautions they must take.    Soon there are food shortages in the city and even though no Norwegian rats have been seen the citizens are told that the rats are the  cause.   Soon the citizens are told they must be even stricter in their fight against the rats and they must pay more taxes to fight the never seen rats.   All of the problems of the government are laid on the rats.    Soon a government inspector shows up at the couple's house to inspect it for possible rat infestation.   The inspector tells them it is nothing against them personally, all houses are being inspected.  

The couple were having lunch when the inspector showed up (spoiler alert) and they knew they should offer the inspector lunch.    The inspector sits down and begins to eat and eat.    The couple see him as looking just like a rat as he begins to consume all the food in their house.   

"Norwegian Rat" is almost more a political parable than a short story.    After a page or two you can pretty much see the end coming.   It was fun and well organized and made its point.    It was published in an at times harshly oppressive venue in which no dissent was allowed so Manfouz had to use parables and stories to make his point.  

You can read "Norwegian Rat" HERE

Mel u