"There are at least three aspects of this collection of essays which are both singular and superb. First, the prose is incisive and yet evocative. [The] striation of tone, of register, of mood, gives a sense of surprise to his sentences; they spring back to the touch. Sometimes they even seem surprised at themselves.
Secondly, what is impressive, is not so much the range itself, as the aplomb with which Lababidi disports himself there. Kafka, Kierkegaard, Montaigne, et al., rub shoulders with Michael Jackson and "Ramadan TV." The ability to reveal or to create affinities is the secret gift of the greatest essayists, and Lababidi does this impressively often in Trial by Ink.
Finally, there is something which is difficult to express: this book has a distinctive flavour, the unmistakable flavour of a sensibility. This "taste" unites the essays, however disparate in topic. The book becomes an exploration on which the reader embarks. This is one of the elements in collections of essays I most appreciate--this secret invitation au voyage which the author holds out - and Lababidi does this extremely well - with courtesy as well as cunning."
-Poet and Islamic scholar, Eric Ormsby
Trial by Ink: From Nietzsche to Belly Dancing is published by Common Ground and available internationally, in print, as well as electronically from the publishers.
More information here.
