4 out of 4 stars
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Trip to Adele is a fiction translated from the original work in Arabic of siblings R.I. and A.I. Alyaseer who both are avid fans of one of the most famous singers of our time, Adele; thus, this story will surely appeal to the star's admirers just like myself. I initially thought that the story would be about someone's travel to a real or even a fictional place with a name similar to that of one of my most favourite artists', but it turned out to be not the case. This work is not for those who are expecting a biography or detailed accounts of the singing idol's life either.
The novel revolves around three groups of people at various parts of the world with at least two things in common: an Islamic background and having their lives influenced by Adele's music and lyrics enough for them to want to take that trip to Rome for the diva's concert. It starts with Elias who struggled to get over his love for a prostitute named Malika in Morocco. He encourages Malika in her dream to escape the bondage she's in; before he left her and went back to his usual life in Rome, he gave her CDs of Adele's songs and other materials to make her learn English and equip herself enough to escape the clutches of her circumstances and become a free woman. In Las Vegas, married couple Yaser and Mariam struggle to find a memory to rekindle their love and save their souring marriage. Amidst his desperation, Yaser remembers Adele's song in the background when he proposed marriage to Mariam; he then bought tickets to Adele's concert hoping that the music will help bring back the memories, other thoughts and feelings that will keep them together. Quite unusual for a woman in her community in Jordan, Nadia is staunch in her convictions and decisions. As undaunted as she had been when she sought divorce to free herself from her ex husband's emotional and physical abuses, she was prepared to defy her employers and risk losing her job just to fulfill her promise to bring her son to Adele's concert. However, just like in what a good novel should be, there were twists and turns along these individuals' paths.
A Catholic from birth and by choice, I had initial hesitations in finishing the book. My qualms stem from the presumption that there might be ideas, views or thoughts which could be offensive, disturbing, in conflict with my own viewpoints, or something I won't be able to understand at all. However, except for some Arabic words and unfamiliar names of people, places, food and other things that I can't even pronounce and (much more so) remember, the book didn't turn out too outlandish as I feared. In fact, whereas I may not agree with what some of the characters may think or feel, those details are still not pointless but are windows through which I could catch a glimpse of the intricacies and uniqueness of socio-cultural groups different from my own. Respect is not just a mere word but a potent catalyst for amiable, productive, cooperative relationships and interactions; I just had to set aside my preconceived notions, natural biased tendencies, and deep-seated prejudices acquired throughout the earliest parts of my existence.
What I liked about the novel is that it interweaves threads of the various facets of our psychedelic world, differentiating similarities and finding common grounds amongst the differences, and ultimately producing rhyme and rhythm befitting a symphony's plethora of songs. For instance, in the supposed practical and scientific realm of medical surgery, Yaser disdains Mariam's faith and ethical convictions. Whereas he was already supposed to overcome the rigidity of his culture's traditions when he has been integrated fully in a first-world country's modernity, Elias still finds himself unable to disbelieve black magic, curses, pledges and oaths. Amidst the male-dominated and paternalistic society she's in, Nadia defies expectations and consequently experiences disdain not only from her ex but also from her own extended family. With the ascent and descent of the mood and tempo of its characters' lives, the novel also carefully alludes each chapter to the lines of Adele's songs. The musical pieces took on a deeper depth and more flavoured meaning as the words sum up the characters' experiences. Although the ending wasn't as fully feel-good as that of my younger days' fairy tale ones, the novel still struck some of my heartstrings; I even shed a tear or two last night as I neared the book's finale.
I spotted just a few grammatical and/or typographical errors in the well-translated piece. For instance, "your" was used instead of "as" in paragraph 8 of page 13. There was a misplaced "as" in sentence 2 at paragraph 10 of page 13. Also, the 4th line in paragraph 8 of page 22 could have been written as "one thing or another" and not "something or other."
Overall, I could have given the book a lower mark because of the limited range of demographics that it could possibly appeal to. However, with the good form and substance of the work primarily in mind, I'd let one facet of my often-suppressed subjectivity (this time anchored on my being an Adele fan myself) to dominate for now, and negate that supposed minus point. I, therefore, give the book a 4 out of 4 stars rating.
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Trip to Adele
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