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The Call

Brief Description
A personal reflection on fragmentation, language, and place. Following one of the Turfan archaeological expeditions in the early 1900s, a fragment of a Manichaean text written in Uighur and Old Turkic found its way to the Asian Art Museum in Berlin. Originating from the Northern Silk... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A personal reflection on fragmentation, language, and place.

Following one of the Turfan archaeological expeditions in the early 1900s, a fragment of a Manichaean text written in Uighur and Old Turkic found its way to the Asian Art Museum in Berlin. Originating from the Northern Silk Road region (now the Xinjiang Uighur Region in China), these "loose leaves" became a source of inspiration for Rawi Hage.

Hage writes, "I was born near Byblos in Lebanon. The ancient city of Byblos is believed to be the place where the first alphabet was invented." Encountering this rare and precious manuscript, with its layered and multicoloured words, Hage reflects on the movement, uprooting, displacement, and migration of both objects and people.

The Call offers readers a deeply personal insight into the forces that shape our world and the ways in which history, language, and migration continue to influence our understanding of identity and place.

Series: Objects Talk Back

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9783035807950

Publisher: Diaphanes AG

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 20 March 2026

Country: Switzerland

Imprint: Diaphanes AG

Illustration: 5 halftones

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 8.0mm

Width: 110.0mm

Height: 170.0mm

Weight: 27g

Pages: 48

About the Author

Rawi Hage was born in Beirut and survived the Lebanese civil war of the 1970s and 1980s. He emigrated to New York and later moved to Montreal, where, as a photographer and writer, he explores themes of rootlessness, exile, and the consequences of war. His novels have received internationally acclaimed literary awards and have been translated into thirty languages.

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