Chicago
By Alaa Al Aswany
(Harper Perennial, Paperback, 9780061452581, 352pp.)
Publication Date: September 10, 2009
Categories: General
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Egyptian and American lives collide on a college campus in post-9/11 Chicago, and crises of identity abound in the extraordinary second novel from the highly acclaimed author of The Yacoubian Building. This is a story of love, sex, friendship, hatred, and ambition, pulsating and alive with a rich and unforgettable cast of American and Arab characters who are achingly human in their desires and needs. Beautifully rendered, this is an illuminating portrait of America, a complex, often contradictory land in which triumph and failure, opportunity and oppression, small dramas and big dreams coexist. Chicago is a powerfully engrossing novel of culture and individuality from one of the most original voices in contemporary world literature.
Alaa Al Aswany is the internationally bestselling author of The Yacoubian Building and Chicago. A journalist who writes a controversial opposition column, Al Aswany makes his living as a dentist in Cairo.
"Al Aswany writes about his Egyptian characters with charm, gentle humor, and genuine conviction."
-New York Times Book Review
"Aswany sensitively probes the nature of courage and patriotism. . . . [T]he story moves in surprising directions, and the ambiguity of life is well reflected in an unabashedly untidy conclusion.
-The New Yorker
"While the book explores political points, it's ultimately a pluralist drama, complete with cliffhangers."
-Washington Post Express
"...Al Aswany's knack for making the personal political."
-New York magazine
"Egyptian author Al Aswany weaves a vivid tapestry of clashing cultures in post 9/11 Chicago. . . . The characters are beautifully realized [and] each of the story lines is individually compelling."
-Publishers Weekly
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