Funny how what we wear on our heads can cause such philosophical divisions; the Arabs see our hat as us hiding our eyes from Allah under the brim.
The literary flourish of the field of grass that can only be seen at and angle because it’s so delicate and sparse in the false spring is quite beautiful and is telling of Lawrence’s humbleness.
There’s (hardly) no dialog in this novel, it’s all 1st person observation.
Aside from a few minor descriptions Alejo doesn’t punch with the full weight of his writing until we first land in the city. Where before everything seemed moldy and confused, here in the heat everything comes to life. Our main character truly has no love left for anything modern.
Truth and lies will be the main themes explored here.
Lawrence sets the stage with a bit of historical background of the conflict between the Turks and the Arabs. He then explains how he came to meet Prince Faisal after tricking the English into letting him go.
The road to Faisal is pretty much biblical and we learn about the customs and the geography of these people. Everything is old.
The first real line of dialogue “You’re a long way from Damascus” is perfect.