"Haa'. I don't know where we got this idea, but we did. The idea that there is a meaning behind things; life, death, and everything in between. The wisdom, the significance, the hidden insight in the details... I like to think it exists. We all love that, we all prefer to believe that there is wisdom behind everything; it makes us feel less alone on this earth.

You live your life imagining that you are searching for meaning, for the elusive essence at the heart of a rose with a thousand petals. You open the petals, one after another, penetrating the heart of the rose. You live believing that there is a rose, that the rose has a heart, that the meaning is in the heart, that the meaning already exists, its existence preceding yours, and all you have to do is search for it..."

With these words, Kuwaiti writer Buthaina Al-Issa presents her book "Haa'," carrying within it the game of searching for meaning in four 'H's (حاء): "Hayat" (Life), "Hubb" (Love), "Hurriyah" (Freedom), and "Haqiqah" (Truth). Reading it becomes a form of preparation for extracting possible and probable meanings, which the reader finds justifiable when interpreting the text. Each word is explained in its various facets, allowing the reader to rearrange the letters and choose the meaning that suits them.

"Take the word 'hubb' (love); break it down and spell its letters. The 'H' (ح) is for 'hanu' (tenderness) and the 'B' (ب) is for 'ba's' (might). Do you understand love better now? Do you see its dual nature, the two conflicting forces in its depths? The 'H' is for 'harb' (war) and the 'B' is for 'batsh' (brutality)? The word that will sprout from each letter is a word that belongs to you. A word that resembles you, that flows under your skin and acts in your heart as if it were the master of the place."

In this sense, writing—for the one who writes—and reading—for the one who reads—are nothing more than a reproduction of meaning and a diversity of countless significations, which align with the circumstances influencing the writing at times, and the reading and reception at others. The literary model presented here by Buthaina Al-Issa carries the uniqueness of a different kind of writing; it is a writing of multiple meanings connected to life, the self, and experience. This is something the author has established from her earliest works to this day. It is a model she did not inherit from anyone; she created and perfected it, with all its details and its aesthetic and linguistic values, thus earning it the right to be read.

Year of Publication: 2016

Pages: 153