Chicago: A Modern Arabic Novel - Hardcover

Al Aswany, Alaa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9774161106 ISBN 13: 9789774161100

Publisher: The American University in Cairo Press, 2008

Synopsis

Sex, money, and politics are the driving forces of society in this new novel from bestselling author Alaa Al Aswany.A medley of Egyptian and American lives collides on the campus of the University of Illinois Medical Center in a post-9/11 Chicago, and crises of identity abound. Among the players are an atheistic anti-establishment American professor of the sixties generation, whose relationship with a younger African-American woman becomes a moving target for intolerance; a veiled Ph.D. candidate whose conviction in the code of her traditional upbringing is shaken by her exposure to American society; an emigre who has fervently embraced his new American identity, but who cannot escape his Egyptian roots when faced with the issue of his daughter's 'honor'; an Egyptian State Security informant who spouts religious doctrines while hankering after money and power; and a dissident student poet who comes to America with the sole aim of financing his literary aspirations, but whose experience in Chicago turns out to be more than he bargained for.This tightly plotted page-turner is set far from the downtown Cairo of Al Aswany's "The Yacoubian Building", but is no less unflinching an examination of contemporary Egyptian lives.

About this title

Review:

'Aswany's strength...is his lovingly detailed characterisation. Beneath the strident political message, "Chicago" is a beautifully observed collection of character studies.'
'"Chicago" contains [an] engaging...and touching mix of personal stories and political commentary...He is a natural storyteller'

Book Description:

'The beautifully structured narrative allows current issues to emerge, as divided and dissident personalities do battle with difficult realities. '

About this edition

• Publisher: The American University in Cairo Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 9774161106
• ISBN 13: 9789774161100
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272