Michael
The plot of this novel is not too far off from other novels with gay central characters. “Tarek’s who life is planned out for him. A doctor like his father, he has taken over the family practice, married his childhood sweetheart and is well respected in. society. Then Ali, the son of one of his patients, enters his life…” (from the back cover).
The main characters are Tarek, the doctor; Ali, his assistant and lover; Mira, his wife; Nesrine, Tarek’s sister, Fatheya, the family maid, Rafik, Tarek’s son who he never met; and Mèmie, Tarek’s implacable mother. It sounds like the cast of a soap opera, but in its depth of emotion is far from a cliched soap opera.
This is the novel about navigating the complexities of gay life in 1980s Cairo, about class differences, and about religious differences. It is both raw and tender in the way it treats the events of these characters’ lives. They are far from perfect. They are wounded and trapped in the customs and laws of Egyptian society, but they are all far from bad people. They are figuring out how to endure heartbreak.
The book is very sensual in places, but it is not over-the-top sexual. It is beautiful.
This did not end the way I wanted it to, but nevertheless, there is a hint of hope at the end.
The plot of this novel is not too far off from other novels with gay central characters. “Tarek’s who life is planned out for him. A doctor like his father, he has taken over the family practice, married his childhood sweetheart and is well respected in. society. Then Ali, the son of one of his patients, enters his life…” (from the back cover).
The main characters are Tarek, the doctor; Ali, his assistant and lover; Mira, his wife; Nesrine, Tarek’s sister, Fatheya, the family maid, Rafik, Tarek’s son who he never met; and Mèmie, Tarek’s implacable mother. It sounds like the cast of a soap opera, but in its depth of emotion is far from a cliched soap opera.
This is the novel about navigating the complexities of gay life in 1980s Cairo, about class differences, and about religious differences. It is both raw and tender in the way it treats the events of these characters’ lives. They are far from perfect. They are wounded and trapped in the customs and laws of Egyptian society, but they are all far from bad people. They are figuring out how to endure heartbreak.
The book is very sensual in places, but it is not over-the-top sexual. It is beautiful.
This did not end the way I wanted it to, but nevertheless, there is a hint of hope at the end.