Albert Cossery (1913–2008)

The pocket biography of Albert Cossery on the front page of my NYRB edition of Proud Beggars tells us, "Albert Cossery (1913-2008) was a Cairo-born French writer of Lebanese and Greek Orthodox Syrian descent who settled in Paris at the end of the Second World War and lived there for the rest of his life." Proud Beggars, first published in 1955, brings us the tale of three men living in an impoverished section of Cairo. To a great or lesser degree, they have all chosen their lifestyle. Gohar, in particular, is a former university professor who, in disgust at what he's come to see as the meaningless and hypocritical world of academia, has renounced participation in the world of professional and material values to live instead in poverty, in a tiny apartment, sleeping on a pile of old newspapers, his love for hashish his only real anchor. Gohar's friend and hashish source is Yeghen, also a poet. El Kordi is a low-level civil servant who is proud of his refusal to do any actual work and fancies himself a revolutionary. As Alyson Waters, points out in her introduction to this edition, "None of them is an actual beggar--they all have ways of making money, if only a pittance--but they are certainly free of ambition and otherwise indifferent to social convention." In particular, Gohar's world is framed by optimism, by his love of the people around him and the joy he sees in their existence. Small details of humans and their folly fill him with delight. As a counterweight to this optimism about the human condition in the poor quarter, the three friends share in common their conviction that the world is run by oppressors, scoundrels and thieves.

Near the beginning of the narrative, a young prostitute is murdered in nearby brothel in what appears to be a motiveless crime. Into the picture comes police inspector Nour El Dine who feels in the solving of such crimes and punishment of their perpetrators not any compassion for the victims but instead a maintenance of order, a defense of the status quo. Our three heroes take him on gleefully as a worthy if not particularly threatening adversary. And Nour El Dine has his own dissatisfactions and doubts.

The language and tone of the novel I found entertaining throughout. The characters' caustic takedowns of society's power structures I found often hilarious, and Cossery's powers of description and observation are rewarding, as well. His descriptions of the street life of this poor Cairo neighborhood reminded me sometimes of Isaac B. Singers' descriptions of the Jewish quarters of pre-war Warsaw.

Proud Beggars is in a way a comedy of manners, a sly attack on the mores of middle class society and the ruling class and a celebration of the daily joys of life. On the other hand, it's easy to see the flaws in the worldview, at least as presented here by Cossery. As noted above, all three of the protagonists have chosen their status, and none of them have families to support, adding to their freedom. They are all men, of course, and the murder of the young girl--her very humanity and the tragedy of her death--is for the most part shrugged off by all concerned. She is disposable, not just by the characters but, if Waters' introduction is accurate, by Cossery himself. Especially this last factor made Proud Beggars less enjoyable for me overall. Or perhaps through this factor, Cossery has in fact added a level of unfortunate and unintentional realism to his story.… (mehr)

> BAnQ (Massoutre G., Le devoir, 16 déc. 2000, D-6) : https://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/2798759
> BAnQ (Martel R., La presse, 17 déc. 2000, B. Lectures, B-7) : https://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/2191356… (mehr)

Dans les rues de Caire, Gohar, ex-philosophe devenu mendiant, sillonne la ville à la recherche de Yeghen qui lui fournit du haschich.
Il espère le trouver dans un bordel où il est accueili par une jeune prostituée qui lui demande d'écrire une lettre pour elle.
A la vue de ses bracelets dorés, il a subitement envie de l'étrangler, dans l'espoir qu'il pourra revendre les bijoux pour s'acheter de la drogue.
Nour et Dine, policier homosexuel, amoureux malheureux du jeune Samir qui le méprise, est chargé de mener l'enquête.
Le roman Mendiants et orgueilleux m'a offert une petite incursion dans la littérature égyptienne dont j'ignore à peu près tout.
Albert Cossery donne vie à une galerie de personnages insolites, dans un décor pittoresque, où la misère est choisie et souvent même joyeuse car pourvoyeuse de liberté.
L'histoire en elle-même ne comporte pour ainsi dire pas d'intérêt. Seule la réflexion sur la société égyptienne et sur les manières d'y vivre la pauvreté justifie la lecture de ce roman.… (mehr)