Egyptian Novel Review

Probably the thing I am going to miss most now that my mom has retired from her library job is that she is no longer supplying me with big brown paper grocery bags full of advanced reader copies of books from the library.  (Luckily, I still have a moderate but dwindling backlog of these books.)  It's something of a hodgepodge, and I never know whether a book I pick up is going to be unreadable or a surprising little jewel.

In one I recently attempted, the world's most boringly depressed and self-absorbed 20-something narrator expressed dull ennui and was a bitch to her mom on the phone for no obvious reason for about 15 pages until I couldn't take it anymore.  Could she be more annoying and tedious and flat?  She clearly had "issues" but I had zero interest in finding out what they were. (And yet this book averages 4.2 stars on Amazon.  Go figure.)

Some of the standouts are foreign novels, which is not a type of book I generally seek out.  I mean, sure, I read a bunch of British fiction, but books from writers in the Philippines, Iran, Egypt?  Not so much. 

For my fiction-reading readers, especially those who are interested in breaking out of the Anglo fiction rut, I am renewing my series of half-assed reviews with some brief thoughts on an Egyptian novel.

The Automobile Club of Egypt
By Alaa Al Aswany (translated from Arabic)

OK, so my first impression of this book was: What the fuck?

In the prologue, a writer is visited by two characters from the novel he has just finished, telling him he has gotten it all wrong and leaving him with a CD that purports to tell the real story.

In chapter 1, a brief narrative of the history of Karl Benz's invention of the automobile is recounted.  This is actually pretty interesting, I thought, but does make you fear that by the time automobile-related historical events reach the time/place of the main storyline, you'll be halfway through the book.

In chapter 2, the main story begins (thankfully).

It is a family and workplace drama set in British-occupied, post-WWII Egypt, with a moderate helping of revolutionary politics and a dollop of strange (though not explicit) sexual activity.  There are multiple point-of-view characters (which is handled rather adeptly) who alternate chapters, which often end on a cliffhanger.  There is a debauched asshole king and the men who pimp for him.  There is one of the worst bosses are all motherfucking time overseeing the Automobile Club, a luxury nightclub for wealthy foreigners that is one of the king's favorite places to gamble, womanize, drink, and generally take a break from the strenuous work of ruling gambling, womanizing, and drinking.  There is rampant sexism and racism and classism, and there is, when you least expect it, an absence of these things.  There are several very likeable characters to root for.

I found the story quite engaging and enjoyable, and if it's not exactly a page-turner, I still found myself reading it frequently and for longer periods at a time than I had initially expected.

I recommend it if you are interested in a story about relationships (family, friends, colleagues, co-conspirators) within an unfamiliar (but not exoticized) world on the brink of social and political change.

"Cobalt Butterfly"--Monday, 5/2/16

Today's Reverse Inspiration player did a nice job combining a striped top and cobalt blazer.  Extra points for the unexpected dark green pants and not caring whether bubble necklaces are still in style.

From whatmamawear.blogspot.ca

My version combines stripes and cobalt and red because red + blue = LOVE.

Black and white striped rope top (Kohls), $3.75/wear
Cobalt cardigan (Lands End), $4.59/wear
Black/red/blue butterfly infinity scarf (Kohls), $2.40/wear
Black pants (thrifted, Lane Bryant), $0.56/wear
Red buckle flats by Me Too, $2.33/wear

Outfit total: $13.63/wear

Plus a butterfly scarf for my own dash of subtle pattern mixing.