I found the many storylines of the book hard to follow as it jumped around without much of a cohesive story except for Wafaa鈥檚 obsession with her cousin I did enjoy reading about the various cultural aspects of Egypt incorporated and the explanations in the authors note at the end
This was the best novel about love that I've read in quite a while. It was so sad and pathetic to read about Wafaa and her obsession with Ashfar. But at the same time I identified with her because who hasn't had that person that one is completely enamored with? The ending was a bit of a downer for me because it followed suit with every other love story: they ended up to together. It would have been refreshing if it had ended with Wafaa never experiencing any kind of relationship because her fantasy got the best of her. Still, a worthwhile read.
I really enjoyed reading this book. The style was much more original than I had been expecting (based on what, i do not know). However, it was also yet another book that reminded me how much i simply do not know about modern Egyptian history. I say that only because i felt like i was missing out on a lot of context when i read this book--how did life in Egypt in the 1980s compare to the 1990s? and how did the early 1990s compare to now (revolution aside)? The novel deals with a lot of issues that are universal to the modern Arab experience--cross-cultural perspectives and expectations on how men and woman should and do relate to one another, political belief systems and dissidence, money money money, and love (plain and simple). i thought the main characters--the narrator, her cousin (with whom she was in love but he was not in love with her until, well...), and the woman her cousin was in love with (a communist journalist)--were well-developed and evoked the tragi-comedy of the story. I will definitely be reading this again in the future, not just because i plan to continue to learn about modern Egyptian history and look forward to reading it with better context, but because it was simply enjoyable.
-I enjoyed this book. -Do not expect a nuanced analysis of the issue of 鈥渋dentity鈥� though there is probably enough there to convey which she wants to tell us. -A romantic story and reasonable characterisation of an Egyptian woman, or to that end any woman at all, in love. -Nice trademark prose. -鈥淧oorish鈥� arabic. -I would very much like to think that she is not anti-feminist but rather describing a male-dominated society!
Reem Bassiouni was able, through the events of the story, to take me on a journey filled with feelings, ideas and multiple places that have a special meaning for me and I鈥檓 sure for other readers who have been exposed to varied cultures, experiences and feelings.
It evidently reflects the talent of the writer who has a deep reading and understanding of Egyptian, British and American histories.
The analysis of personalities and human situations faced by Egyptians who lived outside their country, as well as those who did not leave their country (or even the city in which they were born) is simply brilliant.
The writer excelled in analyzing the conflict between classes, cultures and ideologies in an easy and interesting way filled with emotional and mental excitement portrayed by the heroine and protagonist of the novel "Wafaa and Ashraf" and many of the complex characters in this novel.
The book is an easy read and does not lack the element of excitement in the narration of events.
This was a fascinating read but not necessarily in a good way - the author intended to craft a love triangle, but all of the relationships were extremely unhealthy. It's like how when 50 Shades of Grey became a thing and then some people (wisely) realized, "Hey, this relationship actually isn't very healthy." I'm not saying this is the 50 Shades of 1990's middle-class urban Egypt, but it definitely did its part in glamorizing emotional toxicity. I was drawn to the protagonist because she was so incredibly pathetic - in a cruel way, it made me feel good about myself ("Hey at least I'm not that crazy!") but I don't think that's a positive thing, and I don't typically seek that out when read (or doing...anything else.)
I recently read Live and Die like a Man by Farha Ghannem which was about masculinity in urban Egypt and it was interesting how this fictional story mirrored the dynamics Ghannem articulated and found in her field work.
Despite my issues with the book, I kept reading because I wanted to know how it ended, and afterwards I kind of just sighed to myself and was like "Damn. People are wild." I will say that Bassiouney did a really phenomenal job with her imagery, as I'm a huge sucker for any food imagery set in the Middle East. I picked this book up because I love pistachios, love stories, and the Middle East, so naturally, I love love stories set in the Middle East that incorporate food imagery. The book didn't disappoint in that way.