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A review by clarereadstheworld
The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif
4.0
Isabel arrives in Cairo in 1997 with a trunk full of her great-grandmother's letters, and most precious belonging. She shares the trunk with Amal, the sister of an American-Egyptian composer she has recently fallen in love with. The two women work together to untangle events of the past through Anna's diaries and letters. The past echos the present as history repeats itself almost 100 years later.
It took me a little while to get into this book, at first it's hard to figure out who is who, and how everyone is related and fits into eveyone else's life. Once I had got all this figured out though (thank goodness for the family tree provided) I came to really enjoy the novel.
Soueif holds absolutely nothing back in her criticism of the British rule in Egypt in the early 1900's (and quite rightly so). The character of Anna shows how the British lived in Egypt, and from her privileged position in society she is able to fully critique the British and their attitudes towards Egypt and the Egyptian population. Sharif and Layla provide and contrast, showing the Egyptian upper class as intelligent, cultured and sophisticated, everything the British didn't believe the Egyptians could be.
As Anna, Sharif and Layla fight for their rights to govern their own country, and to protect and educate their people in 1901, so Amel must lead the same fight in 1997. This semi-political, semi-historical love story does a fantastic job exploring the colonial period of Egypts history, and how the decisions made by the British nearly 100 years are still felt in Egypt today.
As a British citizen, I did not feel proud of my country while reading this novel.
There were one or two minor plot lines I didn't particularly enjoy, or feel were necessary, but I want to avoid spoliers, so I won't go into detail here!
Overall, great exploration or the British rule of Egypt, and why it still matters today. Beautiful love story, well written. Some questionable minor plot details, but on the whole a very good read. Definitely helped me learn a lot about Egypt, and this period of it's history.
It took me a little while to get into this book, at first it's hard to figure out who is who, and how everyone is related and fits into eveyone else's life. Once I had got all this figured out though (thank goodness for the family tree provided) I came to really enjoy the novel.
Soueif holds absolutely nothing back in her criticism of the British rule in Egypt in the early 1900's (and quite rightly so). The character of Anna shows how the British lived in Egypt, and from her privileged position in society she is able to fully critique the British and their attitudes towards Egypt and the Egyptian population. Sharif and Layla provide and contrast, showing the Egyptian upper class as intelligent, cultured and sophisticated, everything the British didn't believe the Egyptians could be.
As Anna, Sharif and Layla fight for their rights to govern their own country, and to protect and educate their people in 1901, so Amel must lead the same fight in 1997. This semi-political, semi-historical love story does a fantastic job exploring the colonial period of Egypts history, and how the decisions made by the British nearly 100 years are still felt in Egypt today.
As a British citizen, I did not feel proud of my country while reading this novel.
There were one or two minor plot lines I didn't particularly enjoy, or feel were necessary, but I want to avoid spoliers, so I won't go into detail here!
Overall, great exploration or the British rule of Egypt, and why it still matters today. Beautiful love story, well written. Some questionable minor plot details, but on the whole a very good read. Definitely helped me learn a lot about Egypt, and this period of it's history.