I've been reading a novel called In the Eye of The Sun by Ahdaf Soueif. She's an Anglo-Egyptian writer who grew up in Egypt and was educated in the UK. She now lives in both countries though the novel is written in English. It's an ambitious book that spans in time from Egypt's 1967 war with Israel to the country's decline under Sadat, told through the lens of a female character. It's three in one: a feminist novel, a cross-cultural novel and a historical novel.
Reading it, I learned a lot about day-to-day life in Egypt for a certain class of people, that is, the upper class. Not way rich, but somewhat privileged intelligentsia -- whose privileges are clearly in jeopardy as Egypt changes from a colonial state to a socialist dictatorship. The characters in it are all socially concerned and nationalistic yet nostalgic about their old way of life disappearing. Truthfully, it reminded me a little bit of Gone with the Wind. It certainly seemed as lengthy. (I spent an entire summer reading about the vicissitudes of Scarlett, curled up in an armchair while my father kept suggesting I go out in the sunshine and "have a good game of tennis" which was odd since there were no tennis courts nearby and I didn't own a racket. I ignored him, obsessively turning the pages.)
I did the same thing last night, going on to the next chapter -- and the next -- in spite of my resolution to quit reading and get some much-needed sleep. Many of the scenes were brilliant, but the novel was just too damned long. I became bored and impatient with the romantic agonies of the heroine. Naturally, she ended up alone as all good feminist literary heroines should.
Like Scarlett, she went back to the land for her strength. In the final scene she comes across an ancient statue of an Egyptian woman being unearthed. That gives her strength and renewed hope. The statue as an affirmation of the strength and beauty of Egyptian women? As a symbol of Egypt resurrected? I don't know, but it was a good symbol. It worked.
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