Sayed Mahmoud finds some true features of Um Kalthoum in the latest book on the legendary singer The new book Um Kalthoum: Kawkab Al-Sharq (Um Kalthoum: Star of the East), recently released in Arabic translation from the original French Oum Kalsoum: L'etoile de L'Orient by the National Council for Translation, takes a look at the diva's life and what it was that made her a legend. By using a clichéd reference to Um Kalthoum, the title gives away the point that the author, Ysabel Saiah Baudis, does not embrace the task of straying beyond the cliché. Nor does she pretend to be writing an authoritative biography. Those interested in the history of Um Kalthoum (1904- 1975) may still remember the shockwaves left by the book by Lebanese political analyst Hazem Saghiya, Al-Hawa Duna Ahlihi (Love Without Lovers ; Dar Al-Jadid, Beirut, 1991), which amounted to a sociological study into the diva's art and life. When I interviewed Saghiya three years ago, he told me that the diva's lyrics were about a love devoid of physical lovers; a passion almost Sufi in nature. Saghiya also noted that in her songs Um Kalthoum makes no references to time or place, making her passionate crooning eternal at heart. Um Kalthoum eclipsed other great singers of her time, Saghiya believes, because her rise coincided with the wave of immigration from rural areas to Cairo. Her audience elevated her to a personality cult rivalling that of Gamal Abdel-Nasser. In her book, translated into Arabic by Sonia Mahmoud Naga and revised and edited by Ahmed Antar Mustafa, Baudis, an Algerian French writer, makes no attempt at deconstructing or cross-referencing the diva's life. Instead, she offers an interesting narration infused with colourful impressions, some of which have little or no historical evidence. This is quite a different approach from that taken by the British writer Virginia Danielson, who in Um Kalthoum: Voice of Egypt, published in Arabic translation by the National Translation Project in 2004, analysed Egyptian society and offered insights into the structure of Arab music and how it defined the Arab identity. Danielson also discussed the difficulties and intricacies of the oriental music, offering a valuable review of the melodic variations, riffs and common keys in Arabic musical tradition. So what is new about this book? For one thing, it has a preface originally written by President Hosni Mubarak for the French edition of the book, as well as an introduction by the famous Egyptian actor Omar Sharif, and both have been reproduced in the Arabic translation. Mubarak notes that "the phenomenon of Um Kalthoum towers over the Arab world, her memory remains everywhere, and her singing expresses the deepest of human emotions." Omar Sharif writes that with "every rising son, Um Kalthoum comes back to life in the hearts of millions of Arabs, and without her voice the days would fade in the Orient and colours would lose their brightness." It is of this impressionistic material, which reminds me of the book by Nimat Ahmat Fuad, Um Kalthoum: An Age of Singing (Dar Al-Helal, 2003), that Baudis weaves the narrative of her book, occasionally inventing situations that -- although historically questionable -- add to the dramatic power of the narrative. Baudis states, for example, that Um Kalthoum arrived in Cairo on the same day that Sayed Darwish died, which is untrue. However, it helps direct the reader to the point that the diva continued the path that Darwish had charted. Baudis makes much of a link between Um Kalthoum's growing popularity and the unrequited advances -- true or fictional -- of a fan named Ahmed El-Fahham, a man who sold everything he had to be able to attend Um Kalthoum's concerts and buy her records. When the diva's eye problems worsen, El-Fahham sends her a poorly-written message on yellowing paper offering her his eyes. Um Kalthoum writes back, "I don't know you, but if you come to my next concert, I am sure I will recognise you." El-Fahham comes to the concert, disguised as a blind man. Um Kalthoum notices him, of course, but has forgotten all about his letter. Her eyes have healed and she no longer needs his generous but pointless offer. The author believes that Um Kalthoum helped refashion the Egyptian identity in the years following the 1919 revolt. The book recounts Um Kalthoum's film work and goes into some detail in describing her relations with the leading song writers of her time: Ahmed Rami, Mohamed El-Qasabji, Riyad El-Sonbati and Mohamed Abdel-Wahab. Baudis, however, says little about the diva's cooperation with young song writers such as Baligh Hamdi, Mohamed El-Mogui, and Kamal El-Tawil in the 1960s, and for some reason she does not even take notice of the diva's relationship with songwriter Mahmoud El-Sharif, a romantic liaison that nearly led to marriage. Baudis speaks of Um Kalthoum's passion for new material and her willingness to introduce new technologies and infuse her work with foreign influences. All Rai singers and contemporary songwriters are indebted to the diva's willingness to experiment, the author says. The book tries to justify Um Kalthoum's passion for singing the praises of Egypt's rulers of her time. Um Kalthoum sang Ya Leilet Al-Eid (O night of the feast) in honour of King Farouk. Then she came up with Ya Gamal Ya Methal Al-Wataniya (O Gamal, symbol of nationalism) to express her adulation for Gamal Abdel-Nasser. In the introduction, Omar Sharif says that "those leaders needed her more than she needed them". Baudis actually makes much of the diva's relations with Nasser, saying that the two shared a common belief in national liberation and Arab unity. On a feminist note, Baudis seems to suggest that Um Kalthoum was pushing the envelop of traditional customs, in an attempt to develop Egyptian modern music. She notes that since the diva's death, Egypt has become more conservative in its view of women in general. On the whole, the book emphasises the individual characteristics of Um Kalthoum over the objective circumstances that catapulted her into a legendary career. Unfortunately, the author committed numerous factual errors which the editor, Ahmed Antar Mustafa (former director of the Um Kalthoum Museum at the Monasterli Palace) pointed out. The book is 300 pages long and comes with pictures of the diva at various stages of her career as well as selected lyrics, and despite its flaws it makes an interesting read.
