Hav Post #2

I've found Hav so interesting to read and it's definitely exceeding my expectations. I didn't realize before I started reading that the book is actually comprised of two separate, shorter books: Last Letters from Hav [originally published in 1985] and Hav of the Myrmidons [its sequel]. I really like that Morris chose not only to write the sequel but also to include it alongside the original in one book. Hav of the Myrmidons brings the story of Hav up to date, reporting on what it's now like in the 21st century. Written as a travelogue, the first story spans six months in 1985 and the second spans five days in 2005. Since the two stories are very different, I'll write a bit about each one separately.

Last Letters from Hav

Last Letters from Hav introduces the Mediterranean city-state Hav. The story of Hav is incredibly fascinating. Hav was allegedly seized by the knights of the First Crusade [somewhere between 1096 and 1099 AD] from the Seljuks -- Oghuz Turks who were part of the Seljuk Empire founded in 1037 AD. The crusaders were then forced to surrender by Saladin, a Muslim military leader whose sultanate, at his peak, [sovereignty] spanned Egypt, Syria, the Jazira, the Hejaz, Yemen, Nubia, and parts of western North Africa.

That information alone was a lot to wrap my head around. I had to do a lot of historical research throughout reading this book to keep up. I think the extent to which Morris incorporated actual historical figures and events was interesting considering Hav is a fictional city-state; she makes it feel just as real as any real place.

I really liked that Morris told the story of Hav through the eyes of a tourist visiting it, rather than just telling the story objectively as if in a history textbook. Although, it did contribute to my constant confusion about whether or not Hav is or was a real place.

Hav of the Myrmidons

Like I said before, Hav of the Myrmidons brings the story of Hav up to date. This story is written in the same style as the other -- as a travelogue -- only this time, it tells the story of a return trip to Hav 20 years after the first. As I'm sure it can be assumed, 2005 Hav is significantly different from 1985 Hav. Much like New York, 2005 Hav can be described as a concrete jungle. The 'where dreams are made of' part is where the two differ. 2005 Hav is governed by an obscure, cynical political regime and made to function pragmatically and efficiently without the intrigue of its past existence.

Epilogue

In the epilogue she included at the end of the book, Morris claims that Last Letters from Hav was meant to be a 'hazy allegory'. After years of failing to truly understand the political, economical, historical, social, moral, and mythical facets of the places she had traveled to, she decided to create her own. The story of 1985 Hav reflected the complexity of the real world -- caused by the 'overlapping of ancient cultures' and the impact of time. The story of 2005 Hav presented in Hav of the Myrmidons represented even more complexities and Morris admits openly that the meaning of this second story is even more ambiguous and inconclusive than that of the first. I can't help but wonder why she even wrote the second part if she doesn't seem to know why she wrote it or what message it was meant to relay; but I guess, as Morris writes at the end of the epilogue, it's up to the books readers to decide what it's really about.