Sheba: Through the Desert in Search of the Legendary Queen
Novel by Nicholas Clapp
Reviewed by Emily Banner
Before I get to Sheba, the actual subject of this review,
I'd like to take a moment to explore a parallel that occurred to
me about halfway through the book. It's a parallel that Nicholas
Clapp never addresses directly, but which he must be aware of, because
it is what makes his book cohere.
There is a striking similarity between what happens to very old
stories and what happens to very old monuments. Imagine an ancient
Arabian temple or palace as it was in its heyday, perhaps 3000 years
ago. It's a grand, imposing structure, brilliantly engineered,
lavishly appointed, and famous throughout the civilized world. Built
by real people out of real stone, it is full of hidden passageways and
chambers that all have their day-to-day purposes. And then,
let's assume, centuries pass. Perhaps invaders sweep through, or
a dam breaks; at any rate, the civilization that built this structure
dwindles and falls. The site is abandoned. Enticing ornaments are
looted and sold; blocks of masonry fall and are carted away to be used
in new constructions. The desert sands shift and the original
structure is all but buried, all but forgotten — except that
some people remember having heard of a great city that used to be
there, its legendary wealth. In another thousand or so years,
explorers, intrigued by these fragmentary tales, find the site and
begin to dig, but can only guess at what the structure was. They know
it was impressive, and might be able to deduce what it looked like,
but they'll never know how it came to be, or how it was used. In
the meantime, they're in hostile territory; the natives, for
religious or secular reasons, don't want outsiders defiling
their ground, and will defend it through misinformation and force.
next >>
|
