THE ACTUAL TRUE STORY OF AHMED AND ZARGA
By Mohamedou Ould Slahi
“Pepper and salt never hurt any story.”
--Bedouin phrase.
The Actual True Story of Ahmed and Zarga is a truly beautiful book that makes me smile every time I think of it. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
It’s a straightforward story: Zarga the camel has strayed from the herd, and his master Ahmed sets off into the Sahara to find him. What begins as a simple journey for a camel-herder who simply wants to find his camel and return home spins into a sprawling odyssey about comfort and danger, old customs and new, wisdom and superstition, and the strength of family and a traditional life.
Ahmed is a traditional Bedouin; both his father and grandfather herded camels, and one day his son will too. Ahmed’s geographical track takes him into a series of encounters and perils. Traveling from tribe to tribe, settlement to settlement, and often tent to tent, he finds welcoming and compassionate people, quick to share generosity. But he also stumbles into thieves, demons, people-eating cannibals, mirages, serpents, and impossible stretches without water. Crossing endless expanses of desert, camp to camp, settlements differ like opposite sides of the moon.
But more fascinating than this physical journey is Ahmed’s spiritual voyage, and herein lies the greatness of the book. Ahmed’s mind is blessed with endless imagination. He has an almost magical ability to recall traditional Bedouin prayers, poems, songs, and even passages that his grandmother spoke to him as a child. Often alone with his thoughts, Ahmed’s imagination goes in wild directions, where dreams and reality blur. He conjures crazy possibilities from his predicaments: will his host make him a slave? Are these people demons? Is the tea poisoned? Are people lying? Is the snake really a murderer? Ahmed has a breathtaking awareness of superstition, which he full acknowledges as such, yet is reluctant to dismiss. Such is his attachment to past traditions.
Throughout the book, Ahmed points out the customs of his land, from the simple to the profound, and how everything profound is defined by its simplicity. The rolling of a smoke, reciting a poem, a short prayer several times a day. These simple rituals make Ahmed strong and untouchable. His life is humbled by this simplicity, as well as self-denial, isolation, prayer and meditation.
This is a book about the blessings of hospitality, and the rewards attached to both giving and receiving. For example, the pouring of a cup of tea – a repetitive ritual – is highly ceremonial and varies from tent to tent. There’s a beauty in the pouring of the tea; it’s a way to share, a way to bring life, a way to extend life. Through these customs -- the tea, when to make eye contact and when not to, when to offer thanks and when it is not necessary to offer thanks -- we gain appreciation for Ahmed’s world and how he’s grounded in its traditions.
Of course, it’s when the traditions are violated that things fall apart. He encounters the greedy, the inhospitable, the downright evil. The author sprinkles in allusions to the imperialist French invaders who are encroaching into the desert; they’ve built roads, they’re collecting taxes! Such is the threat to the Bedouin way of life which reaches back for centuries.
Ahmed’s simple life is matched by the tone of the book. The writing is sparse and almost poetic, in a pure style that gives every word its precise meaning and individual identity. The narrator is sharp, perceptive and continually witty. You’ll laugh at the subtle ironies and the loving gestures that are oft repeated. Ahmed sees the good in everything, the humor amidst the sandstorms.
everything, the humor amidst the sandstorms.
I have to say a word about camels. Ahmed adores his stinky camel. He has great trust in his camel and its instincts. As he tracks Zarga across the desert, he knows a camel will never return to a place where danger was encountered. A camel can find water better than Ahmed can. And they are much preferable to a car, because a camel can smell you, follow you, lead you. (And find water!)
Why do we read this book? First of all, I smile every time I think of it. There’s not a book like it. The ending has remained with me – its message so simple yet so weighty. This is a book about the ancient Bedouin way of life, which will be foreign to almost all Western readers. (It’s about as far Off the Beaten Path of reading as you can get!) It’s presented with affection, strength, humor, and remains endearing to its culture and traditions. Ahmed is the understated superstar. And at only 160 pages, it’s a very easy and enjoyable read.
You’ll be quite pleasantly surprised with The Actual True Story of Ahmed and Zarga. Paperback only. You may find it on Amazon HERE.
Author Mohamedou Ould Slahi also wrote The Guantanamo Diary, about his time spent in that prison. Apparently you couldn’t find two more different books. I’ve read that Slahi taught himself English while in captivity at Guantanamo. If that’s accurate, to have written Ahmed and Zarga (in English) is quite an impressive achievement.
Thank you for reading and sharing.
Michael Daswick
The Sonoran Desert, Arizona
Michael Daswick writes high concept fiction. He’s currently working on his 7th novel.