Staircase of a Thousand Steps
From the opening paragraph, we’re in the hands of a master. Hamilton reckons with the language. The voice is present tense, the style fresh and descriptive. The story begins in Jordan, 1966. The child Jammana is a rebel against tradition. She identifies with her grandfather Harif and with the midwife Faridah; they too are outcasts. We root for these characters to triumph over the opposition. In the rallying of the village women around a shrine to one of their own, there is a streak of sixties feminism, Middle Eastern style.
Descriptions are surrealistic: “Under the soothing moon-breast of night and the sharp sun-elbow of day, in time’s shuddering, all must be as it was before.” Jammana sees visions; magical realism takes on mystical overtones. The love story of two old people, Harif and Faridah, intrigues the reader. One touch and they would tumble.
On the staircase of a thousand steps in Bethlehem, Harif met Hannan, who became his wife. When Rafa, Jammana’s mother, was born, Haridah attended Hannan as midwife. Jammana senses that something went wrong. The secret is revealed in a cave where Rafa is hiding from her husband. Jammana longs to understand, but when the truth comes out, she’ll have more sorrow than an eleven-year-old should have to endure.
