Embrace by Brooklyn Bridge .. The Mess that is Egyptian Immigrant Identity!

Review of Embrace by Brooklyn Bridge by Ezzedine Choukri Fishere

As I started reading Embrace by Brooklyn Bridge by EzzedineChoukri Fishere, I found myself thinking of David Guterson’s East of the Mountains. Beautifully written prose of great men coming to terms, with their imminent death, tiding up their worldly affairs and moving on, into the wilderness to face their ends, away from the distractions of their busy successful lives. The book starts with recently diagnosed Professor Darweesh, an accomplished Egyptian American academic, who is planning his departure from New York City after hosting a big birthday dinner for his granddaughter, who is visiting him from Egypt. I had read Fishere’s latest book The Exit’s Gate first and was somewhat surprised at the different pace of Brooklyn, exactly as I had been ten years ago, reading Guterson’s transition from Snow Falling on Cedar to East of the Mountains; from fast moving, taut dramas to a slow reflective, contemplative end of life meanderings.

The first chapter of Brooklyn introduced us to Darweesh’s life and his difficult family relationships. Fishere managed to weave several complex characters with nuances and peculiarities around his central figure. When I finished the first chapter, I was still fully expecting a continuation similar to Guterson’s East of the Mountain, but no! I was in for a surprise, a real treat, other characters came to the fore ... I started to think Barbara Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible, with multiple family members recounting similar events and also recalled another Egyptian writer Youssif Al Qaid, whose work was my first exposure to a this new class of Egyptian writers employing innovative literary instruments in their work.

Fishere kept on, with each new chapter introducing us to fascinating new people, all connected to Darweesh, mostly through family. So the masterful character development displayed at the first chapter continued, with yet more nuance, more color around extended family and associates, seamlessly connecting to yet, mostly, additional well-rounded characters.

The people we meet in Embrace by Brooklyn Bridge reveal so much to us about the immigrant experience, from the fully assimilated to those distant and estranged, struggling with identity issues. Fishere’s creations are amazingly real; I feel that I have met people like them. After few chapters, I discovered that Brooklyn is not really centered on Darweesh or his illness but rather a collection of sub plots, each focused on its own heroes and only some remotely related to Darweesh. Virtually each of the people we meet is worthy of their own full-length novel, to deal with their lives and their identity struggles. Novelists rarely display the blatantly obvious truth that all human’s life is ultimately, mostly self-centered; Fishere gets it!

Many Egyptian readers would probably learn more, about the tragedy of neighboring Darfur from Fishere’s book as we get to know Darweesh’s son. To American readers, when this wonderful work is ultimately published in English, Darweesh’s son would probably come across, as a typical American worldly type, the sort that is enlists with Peace Corps, a genuinely conscientious college type struggling with the evils in the world, so not the struggles of an immigrant, but those resembling the native born Americans.  The Islamist Dawood, playing at moderation is a character that would shock western readers, but his beliefs would not shock Egyptians so much. Fishere’s creativity and restraint are amazing; restraint comes in, as he feeds us enough about a character, but leaves us hanging, wanting more; it is seductive restraint! With Dawood, we are left unsure of who the man really is, does he suffer from delusions of grandeur or was he really a master terrorist.

With the large number of primary and secondary characters such as those created by Fishere, it is inevitable that some would wind up being carton like, single dimensional, and we do have a small minority of those here, the most obvious for me ,were the overly cruel and overly loving Washington DC immigrants, where the son eventually ceases contact with the father. Perhaps, the single dimensional aspect here, is a mere reflection of the son own development and struggles as the lone brown boy in his school. While Fishere avoided the trap of flowery Arabic with overly repetitive and redundant adjective, some of his words came across, overly distant, almost of the type one would find in a book translated into the Arabic Language rather than actually written in it.

It is hard to review this work without actually “spoiling it”. The literary quality of the writing and the character roundedness are real treats, but we are actually offered a feast, not just a couple of treats; there is immense suspense too, at multiple levels!  Virtually every single chapter, leaves in suspense as to what will happen next to the particular person, not just in the immediate future, but, we are brought into empathizing with the person in total, their relationships, their future, we want them to overcome, to be happy, to manage … to find solace. The suspense is at different levels, will this person make it to the party on time? What will happen to his or her work, life or love affairs? Even Darweesh’s daughter, who we don’t directly meet, we want to know what really influenced her … what it is next for her.

Ezzedine Fishere created a true masterpiece, beautifully crafted and developed. The style is highly unusual, especially for Arabic Literature, but utterly contemporary.  The detail of the places and customs reflect keen observation and pleasure in the subtle details. As I finished the book, I couldn’t help thinking that, published in the English Language, this book would surely be Pulitzer Prize material. And looking back at it, in total, my Guterson and Kingsolver comparisons apply, only to parts, but not to the whole. Embrace by Brooklyn Bridge leaves me with that sense of loss and emptiness that I had reading works of Annie Proulx; The Shipping News, but more so  Accordion Crimes and Close Range. Embrace by Brooklyn Bridge is a very special work, by an amazing writer who has, truly, mastered his craft.

AA

January 20, 2013   

Azazel by Yousef Ziedan (Arabic) - Book Review عَزَازِيلَ

A product of Government schools in Egypt, I grew up reading Tawfik el Hakim, Taha Hussein and Arabic translations of Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe. While my Arabic language remains reasonably good, I mostly read in English now. I found the quality of Arabic literature from the 1970's on tedious and banal with over emphasis on flowery language, series of nonstop metaphors and excessive symbolism lacking in coherence, creativity and feelings.

In the last few years I started again to read more in Arabic after being encouraged to do so from reading several books by Alifa Refa'at, Hannan Al Sheikh, Saher Khalifa and others that were translated to English. Books like Alaa el Aswani's Yakobian Building and Chicago actually returned to me the joy of reading in Arabic. El Aswani had something to say, his creativity and sensitivity only needed to be communicated and people who read the English translation got as much out of it as I did reading it in Arabic. The language did not add to the work, nor did it detract from it, in other words el Aswani's creativity was language neutral, could be enjoyed fully or almost fully as long as the translation is reasonably good.

Literature that I need to work on, that consumes me to appreciate fully is far more fulfilling for me than straight forward creative story telling of El Aswani for example. The power of language and the imagery that a certain use of the language can create helps me reach levels of intellectual and emotional joy that is hard to reduce to words. Ahdaf Souief writing in English about migration, alienation and cross cultural experiences from an Egyptian soul is particularly appealing to me. It has been decades since I read in the Arabic Language a novel that combined beautiful impactful prose with true creativity.

Gilead, the novel by Marilynn Robinson about a pastor in Kansas writing, in his dying days a letter to his young son, a book-long meandering letter about the pastor childhood, family and life and the struggle over slave emancipation within the church.

Yousef Ziedan's book Azazil is the most remarkable Arabic book I have read since the age of the greats Hakim, Mahfouz, Hussin and A’akad and arguably far more evolved than much of the work of these masters of Arabic literature. The Pulitzer Prize winner Gilead is the book I always thought of as I read Azazel. Ziedan use of the Arabic language was masterful; this will be a book that will need highly skilled translation in order for the readers in English or other languages to appreciate the beauty of its prose.

The portrayal of the Monk Hipa as a multi dimensional human with strong beliefs and doubts, with desires coupled with immense discipline was, in short, terrific. Most of the surrounding characters were less fully developed and to a certain extent played the roles of “goodies and badies”. The depth of the development of Hipa multi faceted personality did not make me focus too much on the cardboard nature of the supporting actors as I read this beautiful novel; only on reflection afterwards did I feel this shortcoming.

The choice of the mystical Azazel as the satanic companion turned into a semi-confidant of Monk Hipa was very interesting. Azazel is a confusing biblical mystical character that the monk recognized as his evil shadow. More symbolism maybe behind this choice of this not so well known “junior” devil …was he prevalent in the writings and beliefs of those distant Christians? Was it something to do with Azazel reputation for sexual temptation which seemed to have always conquered our monk? I was not sure.

With the level of sensitivity to protection of religion and fear of accusations of irreverence or worse in Egypt I was puzzled by Ziedan choice to put an Islamic hadieth at the beginning of the book ..was it a declaration of his faith to avoid scrutiny by would be Muslim critics? While the hadieth at the beginning of this wonderful novel is a beautiful spiritual one, it detracted from quality of the book and opened it to very fair criticism of the being an attack on the Coptic Church. On the one hand, this book does a great deal to explain so much more about Christianity to Egyptian Muslim readers as Egyptian Schools only teach Christianity to non Christians from a purely Islamic view point, in other words they don’t teach that Boutres or Gerges believes this and that, they teach that we as Muslims believe that the message of Christianity is so and so and Boutres and Gerges have it wrong. So it is nice to see a book exploring how a Christian monk viewed his own faith in a mostly sympathetic fashion. Yet, I wondered if a book written about a Sufi Imam written by a Christian with a quote from the New Testament would ever be published in Egypt let alone be nominated to and receive a regional prize … I highly doubt it!

Yousif Ziedan is a gifted and wonderful creative story teller. The needless presence of the discredited Protocols of the Elders of Zion on his web site makes me very uncertain of his scholarship despite his tremendous credentials, his relative insensitivity to the improbability of a mirror image book from a Coptic Christian in Egypt hold me back from whole hearted enthusiasm for this work that I enjoyed immensely while actually reading it.

AA
May 2009

Japan immersion beautifully created, but with too much denial!

book review of : The Street of A Thousand Blossoms

by Gail Tsukiyama

This is an outstanding and highly creative literary work; wonderful storytelling of the life of a Tokyo family pre, during and post the Second World War. Two brothers, two sisters, elderly grandparents, a sad mask maker and few other interesting characters are thrown into the mix. Sumo wrestling is the passion of the older brother and also of his grandfather, so there is a lot to know about Sumo, its rituals, history and mystique. A bit less of the Japanese Noh theater and its traditions and especially its masks which are to become the passion of the younger brother. The periods of the story covering the war were truly griping the portrayal came across very real, astonishingly real in its detail and giving the reader the real texture of life those terrifying days of hunger and fear. Tsukiyama's description of the damage to Tokyo from the firebombing, the grey everywhere and the emergence of a little green life months later was masterful.

I could not help feeling that Tsukiyama had exaggerated the anti war feeling amongst ordinary Japanese especially in the period leading up to the war. Virtually every single character we are supposed to care about was against the war...I wonder how representative this was of the Japanese society then! Were the Japanese essentially against the war and only their misguided leaders and those few self serving hypocrites that formed this image of a fanatical nation? I wonder but I am not convinced.... It is wonderful to see a sympathetic account of the lives of those ordinary human beings who just happen to have been on the side of the aggressor nation; it is also a cause for a re-examination of the justice and the morality of the horrors of the firebombing and the atomic bombing of Japanese cities ...I am not sure though that an exaggeration of the anti war feeling helps even though it makes the characters more sympathetic. Somehow this single but crucial point colored my enjoyment of this beautiful novel and made me often feel that the story lose some of its genuineness, its integrity to a certain extent.

While Tsukiyama had attempted to give us complete three dimensional characters, I felt that none of the characters were really sufficiently developed save perhaps for the master mask maker. Indeed there were the weaknesses, faults and difficult traits in everyone but these were somehow just very small shadows on otherwise two dimensional personalities; the strong brother, the sensitive artistic brother, the all wholesome granny, the responsible sister ..etc.

Still despite of these two important defects (antiwar sentiment and character development), Tsukiyama totally immersed me in a different time and culture. Tsukiyama style is wonderful in its detail and texture, her use of Japanese words always enhanced the book rather than detracted from the flow, she is, in particular, incredibly talented in creating a vivid picture of the scenery and place, you will feel that you have really witnessed Japan first hand. As someone fond of most things Japanese, I loved being there while reading The Street of A Thousand Blossoms!

AA

September 18, 2008

I Think of You ...Book Review

Brilliant collection of Short Stories by Ahdaf Souief. I bought the book thinking it was new but as the stories felt familiar. After a while I realized this is just the American publishing of Ahdaf’s short stories from her very first book Aisha and also from Sand Piper.

As I read or re-read these stories, I thoroughly enjoyed them. Most of the characters were resurrected in Ahdaf Souif’s masterpiece “In the Eye of the Sun”.

What I love about Ahdaf Souief is the most, is that she appear to write mostly for herself, she is not a marketing oriented author, she is not writing to be accessed by as large an audience as possible. You need to want to get into her own world; you need to try to understand her language, her pace and her approach. The reader needs to work at it to get to see the beauty of the language, the characters and ultimately the novel. I have never read anyone better than Souif when it comes to a true and genuine bi-cultural sensibility, her skill with the language and her intelligence in writing are truly remarkable.

21 July 2008

The Gathering - Book Review by Ann Enright - A Very Special Novel

This is a very special book and I am sure a lot of people would find it too dark, gloomy, scattered and disconnected; this is true for sure, but I still really enjoyed it.

The Gathering is a about Veronica's loss of her brother Liam, her very special brother in a large Irish family of twelve. The figure of the grandmother is dominant throughout the entire novel, as a beautiful yet aloof woman. The grandmother histories with three different men, a brother who has gone mad, a devoted husband and, more prominently, a shadowy admirer friend of the husband are revealed gradually as we go through the novel. Perhaps, more accurately, they are revealed as Veronica searches her mind and whatever records she can find making sense of the loss of Liam.

Veronica is in deep pain and sadness at the death of her brother, she is tormented by it to her very core; her life is truly in tatters. The grandmother figure is there, not necessarily being judged fully, and not presented as a complete well rounded person but as Veronica delves deeper into her sorrow she understands more and more about Ada. Liam's figure is also revealed, mostly as a sad lost alcoholic man who had trouble making something out of his life.

The portrayal of the Veronica's own mother is more distant, deliberately cardboard like, a child bearing machine with weakening memory and limited interests, a small banal dependent person to be loved, cared for and somewhat disdained.

Veronica looks at her entire life, her husband, he daughters, her various surviving brothers and sister and anguishes at the loss of her brother and at her own life.

Many reviewers of the book described it as a look into a dysfunctional Irish family, in a sense it is, but this was not the overwhelming feeling I had reading it. For me, it was Veronica's wading deeper into her mind and opening the floodgates of memories to make sense of the loss of Liam, of their estrangement or at least distance as they got older, of the distance from her own youth. The beauty of the language and the intelligence with which the reader is moved along make for a brilliant, reflective, slow meandering, and ultimately a very rewarding read.

1984 on the Mediterranean - Book Review of In the Country of Men by Hesham Matter

I heard about this book from an interview of Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air with the author Hisham Mater. In the interview Mater talked of his own life experience as a boy watching interrogations on Libyan TV and the eventual detention of his father and the exile of the family first to Egypt then England. The author came across as a very thoughtful and articulate, his description of his experience as a child coming so close to the horrors of torture clearly left its mark on him.

In the Country of Men, belongs to the semi fiction genre, it is based on real events witnessed first hand by the author but clearly the author let his very creative talents take over and weave a number of other interesting patterns on the same basic setting of Libyan social and political life in the Seventies.

Hot Mediterranean summer days, lots of white sand and the beautiful blue Mediterranean, a nine year only child living with a mother suffering from depression and alcoholism trying to make the most of a bad marriage. A father, who is somewhat remote and a bit caricature like is a businessman turned activist obsessed with making Libya a better place. Libya is very much right out of 1984 with much of the horrors, brain washing and denials and a great "Guide" too.

Mater's developed his own child character and that of his mother's superbly into complete multi dimensional human beings. The cruelty and contradictions in the child were masterfully portrayed. Also his sense of place and time is remarkable, Mater makes you virtually taste the beautiful delicious mulberries or sense the heat burning your feet from walking in the hot afternoons to the Tripoli beach.

The disappointing parts of the book were just two aspects; the limited development of the character of the father who was clearly central to the story. While it may have been Mater's intention to paint a picture from the eyes of a 9 year old and as a result a sketchy picture of the father may have been appropriate, this somehow jarred with me as the narrative was that of a more mature adult reflecting back on childhood days. This maturity came across in many ways but fell short when discussing the father. The second disappointing aspect of the book was the relationship with Karim, the childhood friend. Mater was brilliant in the way he dealt with the Karim relationship throughout the book but somehow appear to have felt compelled to tidy things up for a semi happy ending.

The interview with Terry Gross, revealed the true experience of Mater's life and the real life ending was far worse than the one he offered. Perhaps this would explain Mater's need to retain a distance from his father, even in a work of semi fiction and the relatively rushed ending of the book.

I strongly recommend this book as another beautifully written work in English with a strong Arab Mediterranean sensibility.

Informed and Perceptive View of Iraq - Book Review of Night Draws Near by Anthony Shadid

This is easily the best book I can recommend to anyone on the Iraq war. Anthony Shadid, a third generation Arab American, who speaks fluent Arabic was on the ground before the Iraq war and lived through its phases all the way to the full blown insurgency.

Shadid demonstrates an excellent understanding of the people and the culture, this understanding makes his analysis very valuable indeed. A very important point that Shadid makes is the desire of the people for justice over democracy.

Shadid's understanding of Iraqi society makes his analysis on the insurgency, its roots and its nature very convincing. The analysis of the power structure with the Shiite religious leadership and the diverging loyalties as well as the Iranian versus Arab orientation of the leadership is very well explained. It is remarkable how ill informed much of the media in the US referring to the Mahdi Army, the Sader militia, as Iranian influenced when Shadid explains clearly their roots being as populist & nationalist counter movement to the Iranian dominated Shiite religion leadership.

Through countless daily interactions with Iraqis from all classes, all sects and all political views Shedid offers tremendous insight on the factors that shaped the views of the Iraqis and how these changed over time as the country sunk deeper into a depressing war. Shedid equally well covered the American troops, their perception of their role and of the Iraqis around them.

Can't say enough about this book except I wish it becomes mandatory reading for political and military readers. Shadid's Pulitzer Prize for his reporting of the war is very well deserved!

Beyond the Poisonwood Bible -- Book Review -- Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

While Prodigal Summer has not enjoyed the level of popularity The Poisonwood Bible has seen amongst Kingsolver's fans, for me personally Prodigal Summer is, by far, the better work, more developed and more mature than the excellent, poetically beautiful and eventful Poisonwood Bible.

In Prodigal Summer Kingsolver's lyrical and sensitive language and detailed description transport us whole into the lives of Lusa, Deanna and the fascinating elderly feuding neighbors Nanny and Garnet.

The various characters, even the minor ones, in Prodigal Summer are far more developed, more real, more 3d in comparison with the admittedly more poetic Poisonwood. In Prodigal the pace, throughout, is restrained, consistent, the various plots nicely develop towards a future meeting point at a natural pace. Beautifully crafted and exciting natural meeting point emerge in a slow fashion as we get to know more and more about our new friends.

Lusa, a city woman from Lexington, with a Polish Jewish father and Palestinian Moslem mother finds herself on a farm in an Appalachian valley. Lusa, surrounded by a closed society with lots of antagonistic and suspicious in-laws inherits the big house and the family farm. Conscious of the suffering and the loss of her Jewish family of their farm at the hands of the Nazis and the loss of her mother's Palestinian family of their farm at the hands of the Jews, Lusa won't quit she fights on to make a go of it. Lusa, an expert on bugs and moth, struggle with loneliness, widowhood and temptation, her desire to fit but to be herself, her whole being is so very beautifully created and brought to life in vivid colors before our eyes by Kingsolver. The minor in-laws start out as cardboard characters, a hateful envious lot in the distance; gradually they are turned into real people in Lusas' and our eyes.

Deanna, the Forest Service Rancher, living in the mountain above Lusa, nearly 20 years her senior, is the center of the second plot. Originally from the valley below, and had she stayed there she could have been Lusa's soul mate, has been on the mountain for two years. In love with the mountain, its animals, its birds and its weeds and trees, a true conservationist with a devotion to predators. Kingsolver portrays Deanna's life on the mountain with such detail and empathy, one can picture her log cabin, can see the little bird's nest and can smell the change in the air. Deanna's peace and tranquility are disturbed by an intense affair, one that leaves her confused about her own body but very clear on her ideas.

The odd pair, the elderly Nanny and Garnet are so wonderfully painted by Kingsolver. Nanny, again a generation older than Deanna, is an organic farmer, a hardworking woman who has always stood up for her ideas and for her independence. A fascinating woman in her weaknesses, in her courage and in her wit. Kingsolver's talent, so clearly evident in Poisonwood in the way she wrote on behalf of the several characters, comes across so well here but in a more subtle way. The three women from different generations share a lot in their independence, self respect and love of nature, but they are different, they speak differently and they deal differently with life. In Poisonwood the daughters were very different and thus their language, when Kingsolver wrote on their behalf, was just as different. Here, the three women are so similar yet Kingsolver masterfully captured their far more subtle differences in their dialogue.

Garnet, an endearing and aggravating old man, dedicated his later years to finding a way to reestablish the American Chestnut tree, virtually wiped out by logging and blight. A devout Christian, a firm believer in insecticide and all the most inorganic farming techniques of the 50's and 60's is at odds with his neighbor. In Poisonwood Kingsolver's portrayals of the male characters was rather one dimensional, good or bad. Garnet is real, he has his insecurities and his kindness, his ignorance but he is also a formidable expert on raising goats which comes in handy for the Palestinian Lusa.

This is a true masterpiece, beautifully crafted and written. Excellently researched and informative, and, wow, never forget about the coyotes, the proud mystical predators with their haunted cry and piercing eyes.

Anti Essentialism & Controversial - Book Review of Edward Said's Orientalism

This book and Edward Said in general seem capable of generating such intense controversy. Many reviewers of this book seem to forget actually to review the work and focus on attacking Edward Said as a person, many others still forget to review the book and proceed to speak for Palestinian rights and the negative western attitudes of Islam. I will attempt to present an actual review of this book based on MY own reading of it.

In Orientalism, Said sets about dismantling the study of the "orient" in general with primary focus on the Islamic Near East. Said argues that concepts such as the Orient, Islam, the Arabs, etc. are too vast to be grouped together and presented as one coherent whole, encompassing all there is to know about the subject. Said bases his view on the shear width and breadth of the subject, the inherent bias of conflicting cultures and more recently the role of the Orientalism in colonialism. It is indeed difficult to attempt to represent a book that is so focused on anti essentialism.

Said's research of western / occidental discourse was very thorough indeed and he does illustrate through repeated examples how misinformation sufficiently repeated can become accepted academic work. Said also presents an analysis of the causes and motives and theorizes about his findings. A lengthy and a times tedious discussion of the origins of Orientalism is rather repetitive and hard to follow for a non specialist like me.

Edward Said however seem to have fallen in the same trap he attributes to Orientalism, he has not attempted to explore Arab writings of the periods he discussed nor has he attempted to present (possibly even read) work by Egyptian and Arab historians of the periods he was addressing save for work carried out in the west and within western universities. In doing so, Said fails to see how the modern and contemporary "orient" sees itself through primarily "oriental" eyes such as Ibn Khaldoun, Al Maqrizi and also through the writings of orientalists like Lane. Said also fails to address the work carried out by orientalists based on many manuscripts of Orientals.

I particularly enjoyed Said's analysis of the strong ties that Orientalism has with power and colonialism. Said analysis of the diverging development of the British and French practice based on the latter's limited success as a colonial power was very enjoyable and very well thought out. The Orientalism Today and indeed the Afterwards section are also very informative and as these were more familiar areas for Said his presentation of ideas and thoughts came across more clearly and the writing was far less tedious than the earlier parts of the book.

Orientalism is not an easy read, it will challenge many established views, indeed it has already with a fair degree of success led to changes in the way the Near East is studied. To me, most of all I see this as a book that offers in part a largely coherent explanation for the on-going misunderstanding between the West and the Near East and in Islam. And while Occidentalism does not exist as a field of study in a place like Egypt per se, Said fails to see that the west is viewed largely in terms of its wealth, promiscuous habits, hypocrisy and anti Islam and thus fails to see it as 2 way street, albeit with unequal power.

This is by no means a the definitive correction of the history of the Middle East or Near Orient, it is however a very legitimate and serious study of a field of study that no doubt has a lot to answer for!

AA Oct 26, 2001

In the Eye of the Sun - Book Review - Ahdaf Souief

This was the second of four Souief Books and her first full-length work. It is a real treat, very well conceived and written. It is an excellent portrayal of Egyptian society and the various conflicting influences affecting the Egyptian character.

Ahdaf Souif paints each and every character in the novel in a "real" fashion, they are all very plausible in their strength, peculiarities and humanities; the goodies and the "badies" alike, are all well rounded. This does not only apply to Asya, Seif, Crissie and the other main personalities, but to the many minor ones too. No cardboard here!

In part this is a story of young idealistic Egyptian girl, Asya, growing up in the quasi-socialist days of Nasser. Ahdaf Souief paints a remarkably accurate picture of life in Cairo during that era. The 1967 Six days war takes place, dreams are shattered and many lives are torn, but largely life goes on. Asya's love story in Egypt moves with her abroad as she goes to the North of England for post Graduate education. Again Souief paints a remarkable detailed and accurate picture of life in the North of England in that era. Asya struggles and adapts with life in the west. She is so very firmly anchored in her roots, upbringing, and culture; yet she still wades into The West.

Asya strengths and weaknesses as a human being dominate much of the second half of the book, all written in a gripping language that makes you feel you are right there, part of the scene. At times I wanted to shout out "leave him.. throw him out .. he's no good ..don't you see ..." or "call him ..tell him ... don't put up with that .."

Souif painted an outstandingly accurate picture of how a wedding, a funeral, school life and even war and politics feel like in Egypt. Souif was specially masterful at the way she weaved the funeral scene, with her superb translation of the Quran. I could actually picture myself in Etba in Cairo receiving the mourners.

Ahdaf Souif's mastery of both English and Arabic comes across in every word in the book. She loves both languages and takes and gives joy in illustrating their beauty without losing the theme of the book.

The book shed a great deal of light on how Egyptian view not only themselves but also how they view the west, the Arabs and also Israel. It provides a very realistic look on how integrated Moslems and Christians are in City life in Cairo. (at least used to be , not really sure about now)

Aisha and Sandpiper are 2 other outstanding books by AS, if you enjoy this book, you will certainly like these 2. In a funny way, some of the stories from these 2 books are intertwined with In the Eye of the Sun. You will appreciate these 2 shorter books many times more after you have read this one.

The Map of Love, her most recent book 1999, was short listed for the Booker prize (and should have won it over Disgrace which is also a fantastic book with great insight on life at the other end of the Africa) , is an excellent book but not half as good or real as this book, In The Eye Of The Sun is a real treat. I was depressed when I finished it, I wanted more!

A Border Passage - by Leila Ahmed - Book Review

A Border Passage is not a typical autobiography. It has many elements of an autobiography, but it is also a book of well reasoned essays on some of the most difficult aspects of the history of Egypt and its culture. Essays on Islam, imperialism and on the identity and language of Egypt.

Leila Ahmed recount of her childhood and upbringing in Cairo and Alexandria is beautifully written. Her complex relationship with and her views of her mother are an important theme in the first half of the book. Her analysis of the social impact of the colonial and post colonial on her own family and the events that surrounded her is particularly insightful.

In writing this book Leila Ahmed clearly has done a considerable amount of sole searching with objective detachment. She describes that process and articulates clearly her reasoning. You can actually sense the struggle and pain she went through to reach a particular conclusion. This is the work of a sensitive person with a superb analytical mind and an ability to reflect. I particularly enjoyed her pointing out of what was a recollection and knowledge in retrospect, in her process of understanding an issue or an emotion.

The book contains a very well researched and argued section on the "Arabization" of Egypt. Here, she presents why she is not an Arab, but rather an Egyptian, from a historical, cultural, linguistic and social viewpoint. She illustrates with significant historical substantiation Arabism in Egypt as a colonial invention. Yet, she appears to be willing to accept an Arab identity as well as an Egyptian one in the west, because of what she shares with Arabs in the west. She talks of two "Arabnesses", I think I understood her correctly, but I am not sure. If you are interested in the subject you will find this part very rewarding, and if you couldn't care less, it will still be fascinating. It is her search for an identity, and her willingness to accept an additional identity in the west so as not to see herself escaping, in vain, the negative connotations that she has dedicated her life to fight.

A Border Passage is remarkable in its political correctness. This, largely, comes across as natural political correctness, not forced or contrived. It comes across from Leila Ahmed's own suffering from racial, religious and gender discrimination. She tells of stories of a teacher giving her no grades, because he couldn't believe an Egyptian could do in English what she did. She tells of man a spitting in her face in England once he found out she is Egyptian not an Israeli. She also tells of American feminists not taking her seriously because she is a Moslem. As a result of her own experiences, she was very careful not to offend sensibilities particularly in the West.

This is a truly wonderful, sensitive, insightful, lyrical and brave book.

The Map of Love -- by Ahdaf Souief - Book Review

The Map of Love is very well written, with lots of insight on a critical period in the History of Egypt. Amal, the primary charachter in the book, is very warm and real. You can actually picture her in an appartment in Cairo working through the night on the manuscripts.

Her "counterpart" from nearly a century earlier is equally real. The male charachters are not as well developed, Sheriff basha and Omar come across a bit too good, too perfect!

The book deals very well with the confused nature of the modern egyptian society and its roots; part islamic, part Turkish, part Arabic, a bit of French with a unique Egyptian outcome. Refernce to some of Ahdaf Souif's earlier books' characheters is very clever.

The scenes in Upper Egypt are particularly clever. The Palestinian Israeli part did not do much for me and the brother's politics came across contrieved, almost inserted in as an after thought to show the on going family struggle. Too many birds to hit with the one stone!

Parts of the plot are somewhat shaky with a couple of "one in a million" type occurances taking place. A supernatural bit, while very minor, detracts from the book.

Ahdaf Souief, as always, is truely a fantastic read, and this is one more book by her that is really difficult to put down.

Use the very well prepared glossery at the end of the book everytime you come across an unfamilar word. It will help so much in your appreciation of the book.

If you want a truelly Ahdaf Souief masterpiece read Eye of the Sun. If you don't have the mental and emotional energy for 800 pages then read Aisha and then Sandpiper.