Books: LYRICS ALLEY by Leila Aboulela

Title: Lyrics Alley
Author: Leila Aboulela
Published: 2011
Genre: Fiction

I am going to come across sounding unimaginative I know, but Lyrics Alley is lyrical. A slow-paced introduction to the extended dynastic Abuzeid family leads one to identifying with the characters almost immediately. Slow-paced as the introduction is, the turn of events as the plot gives way is anything but. Lyrics Alley reads both like historical fiction - which it is not, and a dramatic work of fiction you want to sink your teeth into.
The plot centres around Mahmoud Abuzeid, a Sudanese whose life is a mélange of cultures, traditional Sudanese and modern Egyptian. Torn between the two worlds, he remains unavoidably and staunchly tied to his origins and his family in Sudan yet socially ambitious and yearning for acceptance in his new world. It is a story of families, love and heartbreak.

Central to the book is the story of Nur, Mahmoud's youngest son from his first marriage and the one hope has left that of an heir to take over the family business, following the disappointment that is his eldest son. All hope and dreams are dashed however when Nur is in an accident that results in his becoming a paraplegic and therefore unable to take his place at the helm of his father's businesses. His dreams of going to study in London; of marrying his cousin, Soraya to whom he is betrothed have to change.

Leila Aboulela treats this family tragedy gently, with perspectives from all family members brought to the fore - and the subsequent changes in relationships as a result of Nur's accident detailed extensively.
In all this Mahmoud finds himself drawn more to his life in Sudan, both out of the guilt of wanting to leave but also being unable to; his second wife Nabilah, who for many years has tried to find her place in this family, finds herself drawing even further away, leaving Mahmoud's first Sudanese wife, Waheeba to handle the family issues, and in the process trying to win back Mahmoud's affections.

Halfway through the book when Nabilah comes home to find her daughter having undergone a procedure she did not approve of, at the instruction of Waheeba - I went from feeling ambivalent about her presence and role in the family to taking sides with a strength made possible only by Aboulela's subtle, nuanced writing.
Nur's fate changes to now accommodate aspirations that he'd first hidden from his family of becoming a poet - he goes on to become a celebrated poet, making his family reluctantly proud and unsure of how this all fits into the traditional society in which they live. A complex plot that finds its way to its ultimate conclusion in a rhythmic manner without losing the reader.

It made me curious about the Sudanese-Egyptian historical ties, Britain's colonial past in this region given recent political uprisings and left me wanting more of writers coming out of this region, namely, the two Sudans.