Chicago
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
3 journalers for this copy...
Chicago may be the Windy City, but this is a whirlwind of a novel by the author of The Yacoubian Building (that's a fine book too!) This later novel is far from any cliché images of Chicago. Aswany is Egyptian who trained as a dentist in Chicago, and his story focuses on the lives of Egyptian medical students and professors.
Like The Yacoubian Building before it, also Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City and Alexander McCall Smith's 44, Scotland Street series, Chicago is written in a staccato, episodic manner, though, as far as I know, Al Aswany did not follow Maupin and McCall Smith in publishing his work serially in a newspaper. But he shares their style and tempo, if not their cosiness. He fills his narrative with intense drama.
To avoid spoilers, I'm happy (for once) to endorse the blurb on the inside cover:
"In a post 9/11 Chicago, a medley of Egyptian and American lives collides on the campus of the University of Illinois Medical Center.
Among the players are an anti-establishment American professor of the sixties generation, whose relationship with a younger African-American woman becomes a moving target for intolerance; a veiled PhD candidate whose conviction in the code of her traditional upbringing is shaken by her exposure to American society; an émigré who has fervently embraced his new American identity, but who cannot escape his Egyptian roots when faced with the issue of his daughter's 'honour'; an Egyptian State Security informant who spouts religious doctrines while hankering after money and power; and a dissident student poet who comes to America with the sole aim of financing his literary aspirations, but whose experience in Chicago turns out to be more than he bargained for.
Like his bestselling The Yacoubian Building, Alaa Al Aswany's Chicago is a rich tapestry of everyday lives and devastating social commentary, and confirms his place as the major Arabic writer of his generation. "
When I finished this book, I felt the way I feel after coming off a roller coaster ride: I wanted to go round again! Hugely enjoyable!
Like The Yacoubian Building before it, also Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City and Alexander McCall Smith's 44, Scotland Street series, Chicago is written in a staccato, episodic manner, though, as far as I know, Al Aswany did not follow Maupin and McCall Smith in publishing his work serially in a newspaper. But he shares their style and tempo, if not their cosiness. He fills his narrative with intense drama.
To avoid spoilers, I'm happy (for once) to endorse the blurb on the inside cover:
"In a post 9/11 Chicago, a medley of Egyptian and American lives collides on the campus of the University of Illinois Medical Center.
Among the players are an anti-establishment American professor of the sixties generation, whose relationship with a younger African-American woman becomes a moving target for intolerance; a veiled PhD candidate whose conviction in the code of her traditional upbringing is shaken by her exposure to American society; an émigré who has fervently embraced his new American identity, but who cannot escape his Egyptian roots when faced with the issue of his daughter's 'honour'; an Egyptian State Security informant who spouts religious doctrines while hankering after money and power; and a dissident student poet who comes to America with the sole aim of financing his literary aspirations, but whose experience in Chicago turns out to be more than he bargained for.
Like his bestselling The Yacoubian Building, Alaa Al Aswany's Chicago is a rich tapestry of everyday lives and devastating social commentary, and confirms his place as the major Arabic writer of his generation. "
When I finished this book, I felt the way I feel after coming off a roller coaster ride: I wanted to go round again! Hugely enjoyable!
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Released at Pen & Wig meetup.
Released at Pen & Wig meetup.
I had not heard of this author before, but my interest in all things Egyptian made me pick up the book. There is a lot of darkness here, some light and a fascinating look at an Egyptian community overseas. At times, I would have preferred a more detailed development of some of the protagonists, and a less cold narrative style, however, overall, I did enjoy this book a lot. Thank you, miketroll
Journal Entry 5 by meddyg at Pen and Wig pub OBCZ in Cardiff, Wales United Kingdom on Saturday, June 6, 2009
Released 14 yrs ago (6/6/2009 UTC) at Pen and Wig pub OBCZ in Cardiff, Wales United Kingdom
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
To be re-released at the Pen and Wig
To be re-released at the Pen and Wig
