Title: Chicago
Author: Alaa Al Aswany
Published: 2008
Genre: Fiction
In the aftermath of the recent
uprisings in the Arab world, this was an informative read. One of the members
of my Book Club made a comment recently about Egypt that I found to be
accurate- especially regarding the World's perception of the Arab states that
have just experienced the 'Arab Spring'.
"I feel like we have been lied to." She was referring to Egypt and I
could not have agreed more. No, I do not live under a rock and yes,
I was aware of the fragility of Egypt's democracy before the uprisings,
but in relation to seemingly more despotic states, Egypt was at the periphery
of wider political discussion. Or so I thought until the uprisings and
subsequent resignation of Hosni Mubarak in February.
Chicago tells of a group of
people living in Chicago post-911. It is a series of interrelated stories of
both Egyptian émigrés and American citizens. Their interactions are
woven around politics, race relations and sexual politics in a plot that reads
like a potentially explosive political drama - but one that does not culminate
in the ending I was anticipating.
The book deals with the
characters' respective crises of identity - being foreign and straddling two
worlds; of embracing all that is fully American and western as well as that
which still feels familiar and therefore 'right'. It touches on issues of
identity and culture of people going about their everyday lives - from Carol,
an African-American woman dating a white Histology professor and dealing with
unemployment and racism; to the spousal abuse and disintegrating marriages
experienced by Marwa and Chris respectively; to Dr Salah's guilt in having
abandoned the country of his birth; a country that did not want him - all
interspersed with the regret he feels for the life he left behind.
The grief
that torments Rafat, the All-American Egyptian who loses his daughter to drugs
and to what he deems as corrupt western values - the same values he had
whole-heartedly embraced; Nagi's romantic political notions for a democratic
Egypt and his revolutionary sentiments , to the blind political ambition of
Danana who is a caricature of a politically ambitious and sycophantic bully
with ambitions beyond that of his lowly Egyptian Student coordinator
role.
It took me a while to get through
the book - I was a bit overwhelmed by the plethora of characters introduced in
the first part, but it has made me curious about his other book - The Yacoubian Building, which by a number of accounts, has had better reviews.
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