Restitution of the Mediterranean. The Search for Transcultural Continuity in the Writings of Amin Maalouf
The article presents the problem of continuity between Europe and the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean, that constitute, as Edward Said claims, Europe’s alter ego. Cultural continuity of the region is especially important not only for the European, but also for the immigrant writers and intellectuals. In spite of all the conflicts, both parts are interested in a synergistic vision of the Mediterranean, going beyond the concept of multicultural society. The novelistic and essayist work of Amin Maalouf, a French speaking Lebanese writer, contributes to the search for harmony beyond the multicultural paradigm. In his vision of the Mediterranean history, he tries not only to give a balanced insight into such events as the crusades, but also to show some precedents of the transcultural condition, that are to be found in the migrant intellectual figures from the past, such as Leo the African or an Italian antiquary Balthazar, established in the Levant.
Keywords: Mediterranean, Europe, literature, Maalouf
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