The Journey of Ibn Fattouma, Naguib Mahfouz, Doubleday, 1992
This fable takes place somewhere in the Middle East. It's about a man, Ibn Fattouma, who learns from his childhood tutor that travel is the way to find the true meaning of life. As an adult, he joins a caravan with his ultimate destination being the land of Gebel, a mythical place that no one has ever seen and described.
In his travels, he sees many things, some of which, he is forced to admit, may be superior to his Islamic upbringing. In one land, he marries a non-Muslim and fathers several children. A clash with a city official and the threat of war force him to leave. In another land, which is the source of the war threat, he gets in trouble with the state and spends the next 20 years in jail, gaining his freedom only due to a civil war. Ibn Fattouma decides to continue his journey, always nearing, but never finding, the great intangible.
I thought this story was really good. It's short, easy to read, and the author makes some points about assuming that one's own society is the best, then finding out that it may not always be true. Well worth the readers' time.
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