Ahdaf Soueif 

BOOKSHELF 

Ahdaf Soueif is an Egyptian author. She lives in the United Kingdom.
Click on her name to visit her personal page.

In English buy from the US
 

           

 In English buy from the UK

Mezzaterra ~ Ahdaf Soueif -- (Paperback - November 1, 2004)
Our Price: £7.19 

Read a book review here

 

 

Aisha  

Ahdaf Soueif / Paperback / Published 8 February, 1996
Suggested Price: £5.59 

Sandpiper  

Ahdaf Soueif / Paperback / Published March 1997
Suggested Price: £5.59

In the Eye of the Sun

Ahdaf Soueif / Hardcover / Published 25 June, 1992
used and new from £6.29 

 

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  Map Of love

Review By Vicky Lebeau
Ahdaf Soueif's The Map of Love is a massive family saga, a story that draws its readers into two moments in the complex, and troubled, history of modern Egypt. The story begins in New York, in 1997: Isabel Parkman discovers an old trunk full of documents--some in English, some in Arabic--in her dying mother's apartment. Omar-al- Ghamrawi, a man with whom she is falling in love, directs her to his sister, Amal, in Cairo. Together the two women begin to uncover the stories embedded in the journal of Lady Anna Winterbourne (who travels to Egypt in 1900 and falls in love with Sharif Pasha al- Barudi, an Egyptian Nationalist) and the unsuspected connections between their own families. British colonialism, Egyptian nationalism, the clash of cultures in the Middle East in 1900 and the present day: the different narratives of The Map of Love weave a subtle, and reflective, tale of love across culture and conflict--the ways in which relations between individuals may (or may not) make the difference. "I am in an English autumn in 1897 and Anna's troubled heart lies open before me": Amal's response to Anna Winterbourne's journal could be a description of how to read this fascinating book, its invitation to use words as a means to travel through time, space and identity.

Readers' Comments on Map of Love  

* The 'Heat &Dust ' of Egypt
For the three days it took me to read this novel, I neglected my home and children - so gripping did I find the unfaltering narrative, so unwilling was I to put the book down. Soueif is quintessential Egyptian. Her novel reminds me of lavish dinners I have been invited to in Cairo, exquisite dishes of every kind and me not knowing what to choose or how on the earth the hostess had stamina for preparing all this or how was I to leave room in my stomach for dessert. In THE MAP OF LOVE we get modern Egypt and Egypt under colonial rule, Egyptians who speak French and Americans who learn Arabic, politics, love and family history. Souief's dialogue is brilliant - I am actually reading English and hearing Arabic! 'Khalas ya Amal' rings in my ear, sweet and vivid. But this novel scores low in originality. It is the 'Heat and Dust' of Egypt, the 'Possession' of the East, a black and white Egyptian film starring Ahmad Mazhar as the Basha. And why not? Hollywood producers take note, THE MAP OF LOVE might well make a box-office hit. I can also see it as Part One of a trilogy - we want to know more about this family and the modern history of Egypt.

* This book gives us an insight into the Arab culture.
I had to struggle to finish this book. I thought it started well but Anna Winterbourne's character seemed to become increasingly insipid as she crossed the West East divide. I felt the difficulties of entering another culture were glossed over. Only the Egyptian characters seemed to ring true and the descriptions of Cairo and the Egyptian landscape filled me with nostalgia. I enjoyed reading about the history of the British in Egypt from an Egyptian perspective, but at the same time felt that some of the historical elements were added as an afterthought.

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