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Title: 'Mr Ibrahim and the colours of the Koran'

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Rating (1 to 6): 5

Today I would like to present to you a little book with a great meaning and deep thought. "Mr. Ibrahim and the colours of the Koran" by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. I was only recently introduced to Schmitt's work and a spark came over me instantly. I went with friends to see a production of his play Hotel Between This World and the Next at the Bulgarian Army Theatre. I was quite enthusiastic about the show, as you know I'm a big fan of the existentialists, and Jean-Paul Sartre is their founder. Why do I mention him? Because Hotel Between This World and That appears as a rebuttal to Sartre's bleak view of what happens to people after they die and how everything is lost and meaningless.

Lele, how I loved Schmidt's clever and delicate look. I quickly decided that I should read some of his lyrical work as well. And "Mr. Ibrahim and the Colors of the Koran" is the perfect first read from E.E. Apart from his most famous work, the story is scarily short, read in an evening. And it has such depth. All in all, E.E. Schmitt has a very pleasing take on life - he has a feel for the details, for the essence of things, he shows you moments that could be labeled as clichés if he didn't manage to catch such an angle of them that it burns you, pinches your soul wound and leaves you finishing your bottle of wine in thought and silence.

About the plot:

The book presents the story of the adolescent Moses, who lives in Paris in the 1960s. He is raised by his father, alone, consumed by a kind of heartache and a total inability to express emotions. Little Moses lives in a poor neighborhood, with a religious father. Ready to taste the sweets of life in the company of ladies practising the oldest profession because he thinks it will make him an independent man, his only friend is Mr Ibrahim. He is the proprietor of the neighbourhood grocery, who listens to the boy, advises him, and often quotes "his Koran."

Moses goes through various vicissitudes of life (which you can read about in the booklet), mainly to discover himself and perhaps the most precious truth for him - the difference between religion and faith. Between spirituality and spirituality.

It shows us how there are people who blindly follow religious practices without feeling spiritually connected to them or even understanding them and how there are other people who see meaning in every little thing in life, give value to every thing they do and most of all live in peace and harmony with themselves and their fellow man. That to me is a fundamental difference for humanity, at least for the last two millennia. And this little book has so much wisdom and lessons that you just can't help but be punched in the face, moved, and taught to truly live.