Four years after publishing his acclaimed novel, Signposts to Elsewhere, author Yahia Lababidi is out with a new book, and this time he invites readers directly into his own, captivating mind. Trial by Ink (Common Ground, 2010) is an eclectic collection of essays, taking as their subjects everything from philosophy and war, to belly dancing.
Trial by Ink is a pleasantly dizzying book; it drags a reader bit by bit into a sea of words, knowledge, and contradictions, to a place where things simultaneously make sense and do not. It is a book for those who want to think, or want to peek into the heads of those who do reflect and analyze.
Lababidi, a talent writer, provides the preface, then immediately submerges the reader in the welcoming arms of Friedrich Nietzsche and Oscar Wilde; a rough swim for more than 30 pages of delight, inspiration, and knowledge.
The young author delves into a thorough analysis of the eccentric pair, both philosophers, writers, and aphorists. He explains his connection to each of them, how reading Neitzsche and Wilde helped him solve inner conflicts and take the necessary first steps toward becoming self-acknowledged enough to become a writer.
After this heavy meal, Lababidi moves on to a more contemporary thinker, Susan Sontag, who was also largely influenced by both Wilde and Nietzsche. Following this, we return again to Wilde in a piece where Lababidi compares the writer to his mentor, Walter Pater.
The seventh chapter, “Souvenirs of Death,” is a somber piece on Here, Bullet, a collection of poems by soldier Brian Turner, written during Turner’s time in Iraq. The poems were Turner’s way of escaping death and connecting with his surroundings and neighbors through studies of the the region and of Islam. According to Lababidi, it is a “triste” journey through corpses and amputated limbs, “yet vivifying.”
Soon, the subject changes to pop culture, where Lababidi presents his thoughts on murder, serial killers, and cannibalism in the western culture. It is a very informative, if frightening, section.
Following this are two delightful chapters on Michael Jackson. Lababidi combines the death of the King of Pop with his own memories of his teenage years, which leads to insight into the world of celebrity and the love/hate relationship with fans.
“Middle Eastern Musing” is the title of the book’s essay on belly dancing, the evil eye, and other interesting topics that Arab readers will relate to.
A reader of this rich collection will be bombarded with words, information, and ideas. Lababidi’s style is sophisticated and captivating, and the eloquent text oozes with rich imagery. The book is an invitation to see the world through this talented writer’s eye, so accessibly told that it feels like having a chat over coffee with a friend, albeit a friend who happens to be a brilliant thinker, capable of translating his thoughts into beautiful insights.
Trial by Ink will inspire a reader to investigate more into its subjects, and maybe start a worthwhile flirtation with the book’s stars, Nietzsche and Wilde.
Trial by Ink is available online at http:// thehumanities.com/books/bookstore
The book will be available at Diwan and AUC Bookstore within this month.
