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bargainsleuth's review against another edition
5.0
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The only reason I can think that I requested Picture in the Sand is that peripherally, it deals with the making of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments film. Because the book is unlike most everything else I read, but I found it pulling me in right away and was one of those can’t-put-down kind of books. I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from NetGalley and Minotaur/St. Martin Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
The historical novel set mostly in Egypt during the early 1950s, just as Gamal Abdel Nasser is coming to power, following the collapse of the monarchy and revolution in the late 1940’s. At the core of the story is the clash of Western and Islamic cultures that both involves the reader in Egypt’s past and enlightens us with modern-day issues at the same time.
I can’t begin to describe how this book sucked me in from the start and kept me on the edge of my seat. The story the grandfather writes to his grandson is so compelling, it’s hard to break away from the book. There was the definite feeling of the grandpa trying to reach his grandson before he makes the same mistakes he made. The grandson’s letters to his grandfather show just how easy it is to fall prey to politics and radical thinking. The extremist views of the grandson are worrying not only to the grandfather but to the reader as well.
The torture scenes in prison were hard to read, but nevertheless I found them necessary to drive home the position the grandfather was in. I did find myself skimming them in parts. It’s easy to see how being swayed by a relative or close friend can have lasting effects for the rest of your life. Yet as the grandfather tells his story, you can feel the remorse drip off the page.
The involvement of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments production was interesting, and I was happy to read the postscript which took the time to tell the reader which parts of the story were real and which were the author’s imagination.
The only reason I can think that I requested Picture in the Sand is that peripherally, it deals with the making of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments film. Because the book is unlike most everything else I read, but I found it pulling me in right away and was one of those can’t-put-down kind of books. I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from NetGalley and Minotaur/St. Martin Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
The historical novel set mostly in Egypt during the early 1950s, just as Gamal Abdel Nasser is coming to power, following the collapse of the monarchy and revolution in the late 1940’s. At the core of the story is the clash of Western and Islamic cultures that both involves the reader in Egypt’s past and enlightens us with modern-day issues at the same time.
I can’t begin to describe how this book sucked me in from the start and kept me on the edge of my seat. The story the grandfather writes to his grandson is so compelling, it’s hard to break away from the book. There was the definite feeling of the grandpa trying to reach his grandson before he makes the same mistakes he made. The grandson’s letters to his grandfather show just how easy it is to fall prey to politics and radical thinking. The extremist views of the grandson are worrying not only to the grandfather but to the reader as well.
The torture scenes in prison were hard to read, but nevertheless I found them necessary to drive home the position the grandfather was in. I did find myself skimming them in parts. It’s easy to see how being swayed by a relative or close friend can have lasting effects for the rest of your life. Yet as the grandfather tells his story, you can feel the remorse drip off the page.
The involvement of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments production was interesting, and I was happy to read the postscript which took the time to tell the reader which parts of the story were real and which were the author’s imagination.
bargainsleuth's review
5.0
The only reason I can think that I requested Picture in the Sand is that peripherally, it deals with the making of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments film. Because the book is unlike most everything else I read, but I found it pulling me in right away and was one of those can’t-put-down kind of books. I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from NetGalley and Minotaur/St. Martin Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
The historical novel set mostly in Egypt during the early 1950s, just as Gamal Abdel Nasser is coming to power, following the collapse of the monarchy and revolution in the late 1940’s. At the core of the story is the clash of Western and Islamic cultures that both involves the reader in Egypt’s past and enlightens us with modern-day issues at the same time.
I can’t begin to describe how this book sucked me in from the start and kept me on the edge of my seat. The story the grandfather writes to his grandson is so compelling, it’s hard to break away from the book. There was the definite feeling of the grandpa trying to reach his grandson before he makes the same mistakes he made. The grandson’s letters to his grandfather show just how easy it is to fall prey to politics and radical thinking. The extremist views of the grandson are worrying not only to the grandfather but to the reader as well.
The torture scenes in prison were hard to read, but nevertheless I found them necessary to drive home the position the grandfather was in. I did find myself skimming them in parts. It’s easy to see how being swayed by a relative or close friend can have lasting effects for the rest of your life. Yet as the grandfather tells his story, you can feel the remorse drip off the page.
The involvement of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments production was interesting, and I was happy to read the postscript which took the time to tell the reader which parts of the story were real and which were the author’s imagination.
Highly recommend this book!
The historical novel set mostly in Egypt during the early 1950s, just as Gamal Abdel Nasser is coming to power, following the collapse of the monarchy and revolution in the late 1940’s. At the core of the story is the clash of Western and Islamic cultures that both involves the reader in Egypt’s past and enlightens us with modern-day issues at the same time.
I can’t begin to describe how this book sucked me in from the start and kept me on the edge of my seat. The story the grandfather writes to his grandson is so compelling, it’s hard to break away from the book. There was the definite feeling of the grandpa trying to reach his grandson before he makes the same mistakes he made. The grandson’s letters to his grandfather show just how easy it is to fall prey to politics and radical thinking. The extremist views of the grandson are worrying not only to the grandfather but to the reader as well.
The torture scenes in prison were hard to read, but nevertheless I found them necessary to drive home the position the grandfather was in. I did find myself skimming them in parts. It’s easy to see how being swayed by a relative or close friend can have lasting effects for the rest of your life. Yet as the grandfather tells his story, you can feel the remorse drip off the page.
The involvement of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments production was interesting, and I was happy to read the postscript which took the time to tell the reader which parts of the story were real and which were the author’s imagination.
Highly recommend this book!
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review
5.0
The "Picture in the Sand" is Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments," partially filmed in Egypt in 1954. Ali Hassan is a Cairo film buff and aspiring filmmaker who gets his dream job--working with the Master in his own country. Ali has never told anyone about this experience, but now his beloved grandson Alex has eschewed an Ivy League education to join jihad in Syria. The family is distraught and he will not communicate with them. Ali emails his grandson, telling him about his own experience as a young man at the time when King Farouk was being overthrown and Nasser has come to power. Alex answers, and the two begin an email correspondence.
Being part of the huge production and meeting some of his heroes is intoxicating for Ali, but there is a pull in another direction as his cousin tries to entangle him in political activism. DeMille made his filming arrangements with the king, but now Nasser is in power.
Alex had always known his grandfather as the owner of a gas station in New Jersey. Ali has always known Alex as a high school kid. They reach new levels of understanding.
This excellent novel is historically fascinating and compelling on a human level. Peter Blauner builds instant connection with his characters and immediate curiosity about the novel's settings. "Picture in the Sand" is a fulfilling and exciting read. Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for an advanced copy of this novel.
Being part of the huge production and meeting some of his heroes is intoxicating for Ali, but there is a pull in another direction as his cousin tries to entangle him in political activism. DeMille made his filming arrangements with the king, but now Nasser is in power.
Alex had always known his grandfather as the owner of a gas station in New Jersey. Ali has always known Alex as a high school kid. They reach new levels of understanding.
This excellent novel is historically fascinating and compelling on a human level. Peter Blauner builds instant connection with his characters and immediate curiosity about the novel's settings. "Picture in the Sand" is a fulfilling and exciting read. Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for an advanced copy of this novel.
hmreed's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kriscricket's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
sjgrodsky's review
3.0
This was an ambitious undertaking: An intricate structure and a complicated story, set almost entirely in Egypt of the early 1950s.
The author knows how to write: the dialog flows, the descriptions are evocative, the story moves along well for the first 200 pages or so.
I had these issues:
Authenticity. I couldn’t help wondering how much the author could know about the time and place. Would an Egyptian find the plot persuasive and the protagonist’s actions convincing?
Pacing. The middle sagged and the unsurprising ending seemed rushed: as if the author were being pressured to finish already.
Clarity. At certain points, I couldn’t follow the action. For example, when there’s a fire in the prison, it seems as if the protagonist will escape, but then is he recaptured. The narration doesn’t clearly convey why the escape doesn’t succeed.
The author knows how to write: the dialog flows, the descriptions are evocative, the story moves along well for the first 200 pages or so.
I had these issues:
Authenticity. I couldn’t help wondering how much the author could know about the time and place. Would an Egyptian find the plot persuasive and the protagonist’s actions convincing?
Pacing. The middle sagged and the unsurprising ending seemed rushed: as if the author were being pressured to finish already.
Clarity. At certain points, I couldn’t follow the action. For example, when there’s a fire in the prison, it seems as if the protagonist will escape, but then is he recaptured. The narration doesn’t clearly convey why the escape doesn’t succeed.
danubooks's review
5.0
Alex, a teenaged Muslim boy in Brooklyn who is unhappy with the West’s treatment of young men like him, runs away to join jihadis in the Middle East. He sends his parents an email to explain what he has done, says his name is now Abu Sabor, and doesn’t answer their replies. Six weeks later, his grandfather Ali makes one last attempt to reach Alex, letting him know how his departure has devastated the family and hoping that his appeal will merit a response. Ali includes the first pages he has written of his own life as a young man in Egypt, when like Alex he embarked on a journey to defend his faith and push back against discrimination from Western influences. Alex does respond, and the reader is allowed to see not just the correspondence between the defiant, idealistic grandson and the grandfather who wants desperately to save him from repeating his own mistakes, but also the unfolding history of Ali Hassan.
We see Ali as a young man in Cairo, where his father is a golf caddy and his mother a chambermaid at the Mena House Hotel. The pyramids are just down the street from his house. His favorite thing to do is to go to the cinema and watch movies hoping one day to move to Hollywood and make movies of his own. Things get rough in his life; his mother, sisters and many others in his community die during an outbreak of typhus. His father turns to drink, his older cousin Sherif believes that becoming a more devout Muslim is the path to survival, and some say that those (like Ali’s parents) who served the Western tourists brought the plague to the local community. Ali persists with his dreams, is admitted to university in Cairo, and makes money by showing films and finally makes his own. He meets and becomes besotted with Mona, a young woman who is part Egyptian and part French, and who wants to become an actress. Ali’s big break comes when the famed American director Cecil B. De Mille comes to Egypt to film the epic “The Ten Commandments”. He is hired to act as Mr. De Mille’s driver, and does his best to impress the director. There is unrest in the streets of Cairo, however and in short order they find themselves in a car trapped within a rioting crowd. They escape, but someone is accidentally killed. That death will haunt Ali, and the American film crew, in the days and weeks ahead. Mr. De Mille is not an easy man for whom to work, and Mona is swept off her feet by some of the Western crowd. Ali becomes more disheartened and disillusioned by his treatment at the hands of the Americans; when he is fired from his job for telling Mr. De MIlle his honest opinion, it is the final straw. Sherif, his cousin, invites him into his group of rebels, and soon Ali is involved in a plot to ruin the De Mille film.
Alex reads his grandfather’s story, and first thinks that his grandfather understands and supports his radicalization. He is appalled at his grandfather’s early admiration for Western culture, but is delighted that Ali eventually sees the error of his ways and plots against the Western visitors. His grandfather tries desperately to convey a different message; he knows that Alex’s journey will not end well, and pleads with him to leave before it is too late. Alex tells his grandfather bits about his current life, and over time he too becomes disillusioned with what he is seeing and what he is asked to do.
Set against the backdrop of Cairo in the 1950s and the filming of one of cinema’s most famous epic movies, the story of Ali juxtaposed with the modern day story of Alex, is fascinating to read. With Charlton (“Chuck”) Heston, Yul Brynner, Yvonne de Carlo and of course Cecil B. De Mille himself, its an interesting behind-the-scenes peak at these iconic members of Hollywood royalty, and how they may have treated the native Egyptians who helped to bring the film to fruition (spoiler alert: not particularly well). Resentment of the haves by the have nots is, as they say, a tale as old as time. Alex’s generation is not the first to push back against those who make them feel like lesser people, but Ali’s is a cautionary tale about the costs of unchecked rebellion. I found the book to be well-paced, with interesting tidbits about a Hollywood production set during the end of British rule in Egypt and the rise of Naguib and Nasser. I recommend Picture in the Sand highly to readers who enjoy historical fiction, especially during the period in question, as well as those who like a little Hollywood glamour thrown in. Many thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for sharing the advanced reader’s copy with me.
We see Ali as a young man in Cairo, where his father is a golf caddy and his mother a chambermaid at the Mena House Hotel. The pyramids are just down the street from his house. His favorite thing to do is to go to the cinema and watch movies hoping one day to move to Hollywood and make movies of his own. Things get rough in his life; his mother, sisters and many others in his community die during an outbreak of typhus. His father turns to drink, his older cousin Sherif believes that becoming a more devout Muslim is the path to survival, and some say that those (like Ali’s parents) who served the Western tourists brought the plague to the local community. Ali persists with his dreams, is admitted to university in Cairo, and makes money by showing films and finally makes his own. He meets and becomes besotted with Mona, a young woman who is part Egyptian and part French, and who wants to become an actress. Ali’s big break comes when the famed American director Cecil B. De Mille comes to Egypt to film the epic “The Ten Commandments”. He is hired to act as Mr. De Mille’s driver, and does his best to impress the director. There is unrest in the streets of Cairo, however and in short order they find themselves in a car trapped within a rioting crowd. They escape, but someone is accidentally killed. That death will haunt Ali, and the American film crew, in the days and weeks ahead. Mr. De Mille is not an easy man for whom to work, and Mona is swept off her feet by some of the Western crowd. Ali becomes more disheartened and disillusioned by his treatment at the hands of the Americans; when he is fired from his job for telling Mr. De MIlle his honest opinion, it is the final straw. Sherif, his cousin, invites him into his group of rebels, and soon Ali is involved in a plot to ruin the De Mille film.
Alex reads his grandfather’s story, and first thinks that his grandfather understands and supports his radicalization. He is appalled at his grandfather’s early admiration for Western culture, but is delighted that Ali eventually sees the error of his ways and plots against the Western visitors. His grandfather tries desperately to convey a different message; he knows that Alex’s journey will not end well, and pleads with him to leave before it is too late. Alex tells his grandfather bits about his current life, and over time he too becomes disillusioned with what he is seeing and what he is asked to do.
Set against the backdrop of Cairo in the 1950s and the filming of one of cinema’s most famous epic movies, the story of Ali juxtaposed with the modern day story of Alex, is fascinating to read. With Charlton (“Chuck”) Heston, Yul Brynner, Yvonne de Carlo and of course Cecil B. De Mille himself, its an interesting behind-the-scenes peak at these iconic members of Hollywood royalty, and how they may have treated the native Egyptians who helped to bring the film to fruition (spoiler alert: not particularly well). Resentment of the haves by the have nots is, as they say, a tale as old as time. Alex’s generation is not the first to push back against those who make them feel like lesser people, but Ali’s is a cautionary tale about the costs of unchecked rebellion. I found the book to be well-paced, with interesting tidbits about a Hollywood production set during the end of British rule in Egypt and the rise of Naguib and Nasser. I recommend Picture in the Sand highly to readers who enjoy historical fiction, especially during the period in question, as well as those who like a little Hollywood glamour thrown in. Many thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for sharing the advanced reader’s copy with me.
gypsynyx91's review
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
It was ok but the felt a little like they had the sheen aspect, a little characterized. Also the love story really annoyed me. The whole thing felt a little heavy handed.
daniellersalaz's review
3.0
I received a ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my review.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Picture in the Sand, and found it to be transporting as the author described various scenes in Egypt.
Picture in the Sand tells two stories on different timelines via emails exchanged by a grandfather and grandson. The grandfather tells of his experiences in Egypt as a young man working on Cecil B. DeMille’s Ten Commandments and getting caught up in political and ideological acts. The grandson does not share many details, but has left the US to join the jihad in the post-9-11 world. The grandson feels that his grandfather could not possibly understand what he’s going through, but as the grandfather shares more and more of his past, the two stories align in various ways.
I don’t think this is a book that will stick with me for long, but the evocative storytelling and sympathetic characters proved worthy of devoting several hours to. I do wonder about the historical events that played out in the grandfather’s timeline and may look into Egyptian history a bit further to better distinguish between truth and fiction.
A book you can lose yourself in is always a great find. I would recommend this book if you are considering it.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Picture in the Sand, and found it to be transporting as the author described various scenes in Egypt.
Picture in the Sand tells two stories on different timelines via emails exchanged by a grandfather and grandson. The grandfather tells of his experiences in Egypt as a young man working on Cecil B. DeMille’s Ten Commandments and getting caught up in political and ideological acts. The grandson does not share many details, but has left the US to join the jihad in the post-9-11 world. The grandson feels that his grandfather could not possibly understand what he’s going through, but as the grandfather shares more and more of his past, the two stories align in various ways.
I don’t think this is a book that will stick with me for long, but the evocative storytelling and sympathetic characters proved worthy of devoting several hours to. I do wonder about the historical events that played out in the grandfather’s timeline and may look into Egyptian history a bit further to better distinguish between truth and fiction.
A book you can lose yourself in is always a great find. I would recommend this book if you are considering it.