It was Saturday. I remember. And while he was standing on a step
ladder in the hall, changing a light bulb in the faint light coming
through the window, I decided to love him."" So begins this
wonderfully exuberant novel of quixotic adolescent longing and the
enduring search for self. Set in middle-class urban Egypt, the
story chronicles young Wafaa's struggle to come to terms with her
own sexuality and her romantic infatuation with her cousin Ashraf,
a spoiled and confident young Egyptian who was educated in England.
Ashraf's worldliness and carefree attitudes stand in sharp contrast
to Wafaa's provincial Islamic piousness. As both mature they find
outside events encroaching upon their sheltered lives, forcing each
to confront challenges to their youthful ideologies. Ashraf is
chastened by an economic turnaround that takes him to the United
States as an impoverished immigrant, and Wafaa begins to question
her rigid fundamentalist beliefs that seem increasingly inadequate
to make sense of the complex world around her. Reem Bassiouney
effortlessly captures the voices of her characters, bringing them
to life and allowing the reader to be fully immersed in their lives
as they unfold in moving, often funny, and eventually triumphant
ways. The Pistachio Seller introduces Bassiouney's work to an
English audience for the first time.
General
Imprint: |
Syracuse University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Middle East Literature in Translation |
Release date: |
2014 |
First published: |
2014 |
Authors: |
Reem Bassiouney
|
Translators: |
Osman Nusairi
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 10mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
176 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8156-1031-1 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General
|
LSN: |
0-8156-1031-9 |
Barcode: |
9780815610311 |
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