The Nomadic Thought in ‘Crossing’ by Pajtim Statovci

Abstract

This contribution aims to explore the themes contained in the narrative of the Exodus, understood as enduring figures in the Western tradition, through the investigation of a contemporary literary example: Pajtim Statovci’s novel Crossing. The analysis seeks to demonstrate how the novel reflects the nomadic thought, influenced by Deleuzian philosophy, through a reinterpretation of the passages of the Exodus conducted through the philosophical lens of Walzer. The writer’s work emerges as a piece that profoundly reflects on the nature of identity, in a perspective influenced by Nietzschean thought that permeates the entire narrative and offers a complex view of human and social transformations. In particular, the concordance between the novel and the biblical story is examined in light of Walzer’s reading proposed in his essay Exodus and Revolution and through the perspective of Deleuze’s “philosophy of difference”. This philosophy considers the “nomadic thought”
as a common entity for any “minority subject,” a term that applies to both Statovci’s characters and the people of Israel during the Exodus. Minority subjects are those who move and reiterate the Exodus, and due to their nomadic nature, they are in motion – even just in thought. These subjects are the ones who infuse difference into our world, characterize heterogeneity, and facilitate the evolution of human society, as “There is no becoming if it is not minor” (Deleuze, Guattari, ed. 2003: 170). The biblical Exodus, as illustrated by Walzer, speaks of evolution in the sense of transitioning from a condition of nomadic people to that of a nation;
in his text, the Exodus serves as a model, a story that makes the narration of other stories possible, as is the case with the novel analysed here. Through the protagonist, Bujar, the writer explores the concept of “becoming” as the central core of identity. Bujar is presented as “becoming,” a concept that suggests a process of constant change and creation, challenging traditional notions of the subject’s identity. In the context of the novel, this becoming is complicated by the interaction with Agim, a co-protagonist and a crucial figure in the story. Statovci – without explicitly stating it, and this is one of the proposed readings of the essay – alternates the narrative voices of the two characters, highlighting a hidden metamorphosis: Bujar becomes Agim. This generates narrative ambiguity, which is only explained at the end. The bond between the two characters assumes symbolic dimensions, recalling the exodus narrative, in which Agim exhibits traits reminiscent of the role of Moses and how the prophet is destined to die before reaching the “promised land”.