The Jokers

The French do well with irony -- Anatole France proves that. Albert Cossery, a Cairo-born Frenchman who died recently at a great age, has the same lucid, elegant style as France. In fact, this novel of political pranksterism reads as if it was written in English. The subject matter is especially appealling at a time when the Arab world is beginning to awaken and throw out its doddering potentates, but Cossery would be the first to poke fun at revolutionary earnestness. His philosophy is laziness and fun, and the jokers of this novel's title seek to undermine a buffoonish governor in a nameless Arab city not by attacking him but with extravagant praise. There is a sneaky poignancy, too, when the ringleader, Heykal, finds in a friend's senile mother a person to hold in awe. The purity of this childlike madwoman is, for him, the highest expression of human meaning. The Jokers is polished, subtle and wise.