Novel
The Book of Mirdad
Mirdad
Mikhail Naimy · 1948
Synopsis
In a monastery isolated on a mountain, a sage named Mirdad teaches a spiritual doctrine of unity, love and the overcoming of the ego. A philosophical and mystical tale. The book recounts almost nothing: it is made up of the master's words and the questions of those who listen to him.
Context
The book was written in English, at Baskinta, after its author's return from America. He first offered it in London, where a publisher refused it on the grounds that it put forward a religion equipped with a new dogma; it then appeared in Beirut in 1948, and its author himself translated it into Arabic four years later. The London English edition came only in 1962, and it was through this that the book found its readers, in the circles that were then seeking an Eastern spirituality.
Who it is for
A short narrative on a spiritual subject, with no difficulty in reading. The chapters follow one another like lessons and can be read separately.
Prizes and reception
Rejected in London and published in Beirut, it found its readers fourteen years later through the English edition, among circles seeking Eastern spirituality.