sas_lk's reviews
275 reviews

Someone said this book was a trip, and yes, it was just that.

"I was conscious of a relationship between me and the pulsation of nature, between me and the profound night which had descended upon my spirit. This silence is a language which we do not understand. My head began to swim in a kind of intoxication." 


There were so many insanely beautiful I think I highlighted half of the book.
Although I not vibe with the misogyny.

Refreshing to read after only reading depressing books about neocolonialism. Makes me proud of home.

"And when they bombed other people's houses,
We protested but not enough, we opposed them but not enough.
[...]
I took a chair outside and watched the sun.
In the sixth month of a disastrous reign in the house of money
in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money,
our great country of money, we (forgive us) lived happily during the war."

To me this about the countless people that live in safe environments; environments not in a war zone, and that think that their protesting and posting on social media is enough to end the war, or to help the people in those horrific situations.
These people believe their deed is done, and can go on living happily during the war.
 

This story has and painful and sad to read but so meaningful . Wanted to cry the whole way through.

If I could give this series 1,000,000,000,000 stars, I would. I think I cried about 3 times and I never want this series to end. Tell me why even the acknowledgements made me cry??

Published in 2003 is crazy because this is still so relevant. 
This gave words to something that I've always felt regarding feminism. I've always associate myself with being a feminist, even though I did not always agree with all of the most widespread ideologies; those that get the most media attention. 
This has cleared things up a bit better for me, and if you call yourself a feminist, you should probably read this book.

it says enough when i dnf an 88 page book. just no.

A dark fairytale. It didn't grab my attention at first, but the more I kept reading, the more I found myself caring about the characters; they have somehow found a way into my heart and I want to continue following them, especially the two old women. A solid 4 star.

It just made uncomfortable honestly. No idea where the story is going and simply isn't captivating either. I understand it wants to discuss some important topics but I've read several books that did this very well, and I'm sure I will read many more. This one wasn't one of them. 
I didn't understand what the point was of the main character being the way he is, he just uses the women around him. A man that every woman lusts over and wants to climb like a tree, the second they see him, is simply not my cup of tea. 

First things first, Poe has my heart. 

I definitely enjoyed this one more than book 1, the story just felt generally more "solid", so did the characters... if that makes sense. 
I still have a few pacing issues with it just like with the first book, the ending is just too quick and too easy. She achieves things a little too quickly for my liking.
Nonetheless, still enjoyed it a ton and I will definitely be looking forward to book 3. 

I really took my time with this novel because it's really one of those books you just need to savour. I loved the journey, I loved the characters. It gave me a sense of peace, even though the book is by no means peaceful, and definitely discusses many important but sad topics such as colonialism, terrorism, political situation, etc. 

My only criticism is that at some point, towards the end of the book, it became only politics out of nowhere. One can definitely see that the author wanted to make the reader aware of Egypt's and the Middle East's history, but sometimes it just could so much that I ended up skimming because it was all these names that I didn't remember, and so I had to really force myself to trudge through that part. It just got a little confusing and felt like Soueif suddenly decided that they hadn't put enough politics in it, so they bombarded those 100 pages. It lost me a little bit.

Otherwise, I fully understand why this book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. A love letter to Egypt, it makes me want to go back and see it again.