العتبات

In an extraordinary narrative experiment with a strikingly innovative structure, Jordanian novelist **Mufleh Al-Adwan** opens the gates to **Al-Atabat (The Thresholds)**, a work that sheds the conventions of traditional storytelling and leads readers into a world where magical realism, anthropology, and mythical history intertwine. At its heart lies a singular manuscript designed to be read through three distinct paths, unfolding across three different timelines. Marked by three parallel numbering systems, its chapters intersect and converge as characters separated by centuries become intricately connected, until every narrative thread ultimately meets at a single moment of revelation—where the thresholds of confession are crossed and readers are left free to choose the journey that resonates most with them. The novel unfolds in the extraordinary village of **Umm Al-Arqan**, a place rich in symbolism that reflects the evolution of both society and humanity through three geological and historical layers. The deepest layer descends into ancient eastern caves and grottoes, preserving the first memories of the ancestors. Above it lies a middle stratum of stone and mud houses that emerged around a life-giving spring after the first migration. The final layer rises into a modern western district built of crystal and glass, mirroring the cold detachment of contemporary urban life and exposing the widening gulf between generations. The story is propelled by a series of modern email messages sent by **Khaled Al-Kanaan**, a young man who returns from the relentless pace of the city, captivated by an ancient manuscript inherited from his grandfather. Inviting his journalist friend **Ryan** to visit the village and uncover its hidden mysteries, Khaled sets in motion a journey where the present seamlessly intertwines with the distant past. Alongside this contemporary thread unfolds the tale of the scribe **Ibrahim**, his defiant daughter **Shafaq**, and **Sa'da**, the village's visionary maiden whose life is shaped by prophetic dreams. Their stories are further entwined with the enigmatic passage of three strangers who crossed the village long ago, leaving behind miracles and legends tied to the construction of the palace and the sacred spring—events that would later give rise to curses, bloodshed, and enduring existential struggles. Written in richly poetic prose infused with a gentle Sufi spirit, the novel blends the fragrance of henna and cardamom with the creaking of ancient doors and the sighs of the dead longing for their mothers at the entrances of forgotten caves. It leaves readers with an irresistible question: Do you possess the courage to leave behind the comfort of the present and step across the mysterious thresholds of a village where the living carry caves within their bodies, and the caverns echo with the laughter of the dead—only to discover which of its three paths will ultimately lead you to your own truth?