Books
by Ahdaf Soueif
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In the Eye of the Sun |
The heroine of this novel, a young Egyptian woman from Cairo's elite academic world, meets and marries a local computer consultant and goes to England to do a postgraduate at a Northern university. The story moves between Egypt, Athens, Beirut and England and provides an interesting insight into relations within her family and marriage. I found it gripping, moving and sometimes even comic. Don't be put off by its unusual length.
(Jeremy Swann - bwl 7 February 2001) |
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In the Eye of the Sun |
Deservedly a best-seller in 1992, this merits a re-read. Asya, from the privileged academic world of Cairo, chooses to do her PhD in Northern England where, estranged from her husband, she falls for the dreadful Gerald. East-West tensions, breakdowns in communication and love, losing and finding identity, juxtaposed with the parallel universe of modern Cairo and the warm world of Asya's close-knit family - all sensitively and engrossingly explored. A book to live inside.
(Annabel Bedini - bwl 47 September 2008) |
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The Map of Love |
Part romance, part political commentary, this is an unusual book which charts the story of two women, whose lives are separated by a century, both of whom are drawn to Egypt where the story takes place. It was shortlisted for the 1999 Booker, but don't let this put you off.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 3 May 2000) |
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