Sighs of Bitter Pain

About this book

On the roads of 'the land of orphaned civilizations,' where the road stretches long as the patience of the oppressed, begins the journey of 'Masi'—a journey governed by no travel guide but the moaning of memories and a reckless longing in a shoreless desert of imagination. 'Sighs of Bitter Pain' is not merely a novel but a mirror reflecting man's struggle between fidelity to his roots that drank from the earth's clay and escape from a devilish destiny pursuing him. 'Masi' takes his first steps toward the unknown, leaving behind the smell of clay, the dew of clover, and the rooster's crow that now wakes nothing in him but the prick of conscience. Does one flee from one's destiny or toward it? And do the dreams of 'Tayseer,' that bird soaring on the horizon, suffice to withstand the shock of sudden parting? The threads of the tale intertwine between Masi's family clinging to the soil and burning questions that choke the breath: why leave now? And how can one whose character was formed from the Nile's overflow and the wheat's tan choose self-exile willingly? In a refined literary style, author Ahmed Haroun Al-Balali dives into worlds.