His solemn vigil ends when his wife, Arwa bint Saleh, gives birth to a baby girl. But his daughter's life lasts only a few hours as the father's attempts to save her fail.
As the novel poignantly states: "Life gives us both a kiss and a slap; all we can do is celebrate the kiss with everyone and heal the bruises alone."
It is set in a few hours between home and the hospital, punctuated by phone calls inquiring about the baby's health. Amid this intense pressure, the father's memory drifts back to scenes, stories, histories, and conflicts that intertwine to create a slow, agonizing sense of loss as he waits for something that never materializes: "Each lunar month, one of my sons dies, and the mourning tent is erected in my chest, and no one joins me in those secret funerals."
His tribe does not tolerate those who do not uphold its ideals of maintaining a "pure lineage," persistently challenging his childlessness and pressuring him to take another wife.
The tribe is portrayed as "a social bank that provides for its members' needs, only to demand in return all the freedom and independence they may desire," leaving him to bear the resulting burdens in solitude, "like descending a mountain on one leg."
The title originates from a story the main character's father told him, symbolically underscoring the importance of having children. It recounts a prolonged conflict between two tribes. During a ceasefire at night, one tribe would hear laughter coming from the other, leading to suspicion and questions.
Night after night, they heard these sounds, but after the war ended, it was revealed that the laughter came from the other tribe's children, while their own tribe had none and, therefore, did not laugh.
The novel is deeply rooted in a sense of place –Najran, a Saudi city – depicting its customs, traditions, culture, and natural environment.
Through piercing, dense, intense, and poetic language, the novel leaves a powerful impression on the reader. It is as if it were written with a knife.
The Anecdotes of Al-Sherbini
By Yusuf bin Muhammad bin Abduljawwad bin Khidr Al-Sherbini
With introduction and commentary by Ibrahim Al-Aqel, published by Al-Jamal Publications in Iraq
This extensive book is an effort to systematically introduce medieval Arabic literature and take ancient unpublished texts to new readers. It introduces a forgotten writer whose work is both charming and humorous.
Yusuf Al-Sherbini lived in the 17th century and is primarily known for one famous book, Hazz al-Qhuf Bi Sharh Qasid Abi Shaduf, which defines his legacy and to which he is most commonly attributed.
He is considered a "little-known writer," as described by Egyptian historian Ahmad Amin, who attributed this obscurity to the fact that his works were "popular, not aristocratic, leading to a lack of translation and recognition, as his status and works were often met with disdain."
The book's editors agree there is a general lack of knowledge on Al-Sherbini among specialists in Arabic literature.
He has been colourfully described by the late writer Khayr al-Din al-Zarkali, who said Al-Sherbini was:
"An Egyptian humorist who used colloquial language to critique the customs of Egyptian rural life during his time... He also composed a didactic poem devoid of dotted letters, with an accompanying explanation also written without dotted letters."
