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carolhammal's review against another edition
5.0
I really appreciated that this story is happening in my hometown. I'm impressed with the amount of accurate non-stereotyped content about Egypt; from culture to actual locations and political situation. This one took me a while to finish as I wanted to read slowly and relate to the actual events that took place in Egypt & the region since 2011. This is my first book for this author and I'm a new fan for sure! Great research!!!
fatimawright's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
carolsnotebook's review against another edition
4.0
This one is definitely worth listening to/reading. It’s a slow book though, don’t expect all the action and shoot-outs of some spy novels. It’s tension-filled but not a nail-biter. For me, that worked well, given the topics and people. It seemed more realistic. For fiction, it felt like a glimpse inside the world of global politics and espionage. You can find my whole review at Carol's Notebook.
leapais's review against another edition
3.0
Depois de ler lido Do Desastre de Lisboa, fiquei com vontade de conhecer melhor a escrita deste autor desconhecido (para mim) que andava lá a marinar por casa há uns anitos.
O Caso do Cairo, não sendo o melhor livro do mundo (ou sequer um dos melhores), não deixa de ser uma leitura agradável. Mistura política e alguma história (real) com espiões e assassinos, romances e traições, segredos de estado e pessoais.
Vamos acompanhando o desenrolar dos acontecimentos através de Omar, Stan, Jonh, Jibril e Sophie, que convergem, na cidade do Cairo, até conseguirem perceber não só quem matou Emmett mas também porque é que ele foi morto.
Confesso que, em alguns momentos, me senti baralhada com as personagens e quem estava aonde precisamente porque a divisão do livro (capítulos relacionados com cada uma das personagens) dá azo a essa confusão, revendo os acontecimentos pelo prisma de cada um. No entanto, essa baralhação momentânea não me impediu de ler e retomar o fio à meada logo de seguida.
Talvez volte a ler este autor mas não fiquei fã incondicional.
O Caso do Cairo, não sendo o melhor livro do mundo (ou sequer um dos melhores), não deixa de ser uma leitura agradável. Mistura política e alguma história (real) com espiões e assassinos, romances e traições, segredos de estado e pessoais.
Vamos acompanhando o desenrolar dos acontecimentos através de Omar, Stan, Jonh, Jibril e Sophie, que convergem, na cidade do Cairo, até conseguirem perceber não só quem matou Emmett mas também porque é que ele foi morto.
Confesso que, em alguns momentos, me senti baralhada com as personagens e quem estava aonde precisamente porque a divisão do livro (capítulos relacionados com cada uma das personagens) dá azo a essa confusão, revendo os acontecimentos pelo prisma de cada um. No entanto, essa baralhação momentânea não me impediu de ler e retomar o fio à meada logo de seguida.
Talvez volte a ler este autor mas não fiquei fã incondicional.
omnibozo22's review against another edition
4.0
Talky, but fun spy story with enough twists and grit to sound plausible, especially after the Arab Spring events and Hillary's so-called troubles in Libya. I'll read more by this author.
psteve's review against another edition
4.0
From its first chapter, when a man is shot in front of his wife in a restaurant, this book really grabs you. It tells the backstories of this couple, their betrayals of each other and others, from their first visit to Yugoslavia in the early 90s. Characters are well-drawn, and the locations are excellent and also well-rendered. Complicated story that sometimes gets a tad confusing, but that's part of what makes a good spin story.
left_coast_justin's review against another edition
4.0
Don't pay attention to anybody that compares this to LeCarre -- it's ridiculous, like comparing Katy Perry to Aretha. But hey, sometime you're in the mood for Katy Perry. This was solid entertainment, and my second-favorite book of his after the truly great "All the Old Knives."
My favorite line: "Although nearing fifty, he dressed like a hipster, in round glasses and bowling shoes." Perfect way to capture somebody in just a few words.
My favorite line: "Although nearing fifty, he dressed like a hipster, in round glasses and bowling shoes." Perfect way to capture somebody in just a few words.
speesh's review against another edition
3.0
I must admit to having been more than a little non-plussed by this one. I did, against my usual better judgement, quickly see a few very good reviews before I read it. So my disappointment was multiplied accordingly.
Problem is, the politics down Cairo-way, is so buggered-up, so fluid, that no one knows what on earth is going on. Not least the people actually involved. And the people not involved, are all on the way up here now. It’s not that no one on the outside can possibly understand, it’s that those on the inside don’t, or won’t, or can’t understand (or all of the above) what needs to be done. Those on the outside can see sure enough what needs to be done, but those on the inside won’t listen - because we ‘don’t understand.' So, we’ve more or less said ‘OK then, have it your way…’ and we stop bothering listening, being interested in, or caring about them. Until they turn up at our door. Why should we bother to find a solution, when it’s plain that no one down there wants one and that there actually isn’t a solution. So, to set a book down in north African/Arab politics, you’ve really got to have a bit more to get me worked up, than some interesting observations and a plot hinging on possible CIA meddling. Which may be leaks, maybe concerning the internal politics of a post-Gadaffi Libya. It needs a lot more to it than just they might, possibly have had a game-plan that they, or someone else, might just possibly be setting in motion. That sort of rumour and half-misinformed speculation happens every day, in just about every other ‘thriller’ you look at nowadays. And anyway, anything that goes right down there, is Allah’s will, anything that goes wrong, it’s the CIA’s meddling. Or Israel. You know it.
I think really he should have concentrated on any internal strife or conflict caused by back-stabbing within the USA and/or CIA, rather than trying to whip up interest from Eastern Europeans and Americans meddling in places they really shouldn’t. Actually, I can’t think what he was hoping I’d come away from it all with. There is some interesting stuff about the old Yugoslavia, the tensions that bubbled under the surface there, that were only kept in check by a ruthless dictator. And comparisons with what young Olen seems to (my interpretation) be suggesting is a similar situation developing out of the ‘Arab Spring’ (I’m pretty sure this was written before the fall of Gaddafi) and after the fall of Mubarak in Egypt, where volatile, pressure-cooker countries are/were only kept in check by ruthless dictators...
The book’s stylistic concept, of back-tracking over events and time, to see that event from another perspective and hear other views, is interesting enough. However, if you took all the double vision and backtracking out but one - even the one with the most page-time - you’d be left with a very short book, with a very slight story. What, with all the various views left in, we have got, is a decent-length book, trying to cover up a rather slight story.
I suppose you could argue it’s about trying to build your own future, but finding it difficult to impossible to free your feet from the clinging quicksand of your country’s past. But even that isn’t exactly a first, is it?
It promised much, the whole way through, but in the end, delivered very little. It’s an ok concept, but one that makes a book more concerned about getting the concept to work on paper, than making sure it’s a good story under the style.
More world-class reviews on Speesh Reads
Problem is, the politics down Cairo-way, is so buggered-up, so fluid, that no one knows what on earth is going on. Not least the people actually involved. And the people not involved, are all on the way up here now. It’s not that no one on the outside can possibly understand, it’s that those on the inside don’t, or won’t, or can’t understand (or all of the above) what needs to be done. Those on the outside can see sure enough what needs to be done, but those on the inside won’t listen - because we ‘don’t understand.' So, we’ve more or less said ‘OK then, have it your way…’ and we stop bothering listening, being interested in, or caring about them. Until they turn up at our door. Why should we bother to find a solution, when it’s plain that no one down there wants one and that there actually isn’t a solution. So, to set a book down in north African/Arab politics, you’ve really got to have a bit more to get me worked up, than some interesting observations and a plot hinging on possible CIA meddling. Which may be leaks, maybe concerning the internal politics of a post-Gadaffi Libya. It needs a lot more to it than just they might, possibly have had a game-plan that they, or someone else, might just possibly be setting in motion. That sort of rumour and half-misinformed speculation happens every day, in just about every other ‘thriller’ you look at nowadays. And anyway, anything that goes right down there, is Allah’s will, anything that goes wrong, it’s the CIA’s meddling. Or Israel. You know it.
I think really he should have concentrated on any internal strife or conflict caused by back-stabbing within the USA and/or CIA, rather than trying to whip up interest from Eastern Europeans and Americans meddling in places they really shouldn’t. Actually, I can’t think what he was hoping I’d come away from it all with. There is some interesting stuff about the old Yugoslavia, the tensions that bubbled under the surface there, that were only kept in check by a ruthless dictator. And comparisons with what young Olen seems to (my interpretation) be suggesting is a similar situation developing out of the ‘Arab Spring’ (I’m pretty sure this was written before the fall of Gaddafi) and after the fall of Mubarak in Egypt, where volatile, pressure-cooker countries are/were only kept in check by ruthless dictators...
The book’s stylistic concept, of back-tracking over events and time, to see that event from another perspective and hear other views, is interesting enough. However, if you took all the double vision and backtracking out but one - even the one with the most page-time - you’d be left with a very short book, with a very slight story. What, with all the various views left in, we have got, is a decent-length book, trying to cover up a rather slight story.
I suppose you could argue it’s about trying to build your own future, but finding it difficult to impossible to free your feet from the clinging quicksand of your country’s past. But even that isn’t exactly a first, is it?
It promised much, the whole way through, but in the end, delivered very little. It’s an ok concept, but one that makes a book more concerned about getting the concept to work on paper, than making sure it’s a good story under the style.
More world-class reviews on Speesh Reads
lisagray68's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0