Mirror to Damascus

Another of those books about what a place was, before war and dictatorship changed it for ever.
I have fond memories of Syria and wandering the souks, visiting the sights and sites.
And clearly, so does Thubron - his wonderment and passion for Damascus are obvious in this book - perhaps even a little over the top. In what is Thubron's first publication (I believe?), he is clearly enamoured with the city.

As usual there is beautiful writing, there are amusing anecdotes involving the people he meets, but what runs heavily through this book are biblical references. There are just so many - page after pages tracking the history of things and people mentioned biblically. Far from having knowledge of the basics, the fine detail is completely lost on me, and frankly I have no interest in trying to piece it together. This unfortunately made it a very hard read for me, and it ranks right down there with Thubrons fiction, which I have also struggled with. Take nothing away from his more well known non-fiction, which has always been excellent until I got to this one.

Recommended for those with a biblical grounding, as they will probably take much from Thubron's careful analysis and detail around the events and places. Harder for others to pick out the gems which still exist in this book.

I pinched a quote from another review I liked (HERE)

Today I sent an inlaid box to England. The shop owner was convinced I was sending it to a girl-friend.‘You will give me the address and I will post it to her', he said. He gazed at the name. ‘Miss E. Horn. So she lives in Oxford. Is she a student there?'No, she was not a student. In vain I told him she was my eighty-year old nanny.‘How old is she really? Is she beautiful?'‘Yes', I said, ‘certainly my nanny is beautiful'.‘Then I will send her a little souvenir in the box. Perhaps I will write something'. He stuck a pen between his teeth. ‘Miss E. Horn' he repeated, and the words took on an added rapture through the Damascene accent. I left him humped behind his counter, wondering what sort of note he would enclose. A number of lavish Arab precedents have become standard. Nanny might smell like ambergris or have the eyes of a young gazelle. Perhaps she would rival the full moon or shine like anemones. It was all very satisfying.