In the Eye of the Sun

By Ahdaf Soueif

The great English novel about Egypt, which is also the great Egyptian novel about England.

This is a love story, a story about growing up, a story about what its like to be a woman (Eastern and Western), a story about the history of the post-imperial Middle East during the last 30 years or so, perplexed and bloody years, and a story about home.

In London in 1979, Asya reflects on events in Cairo more than a decade before. It's May, 1967: Asya's studying for university is interrupted by war between Israel and Egypt, a conflict that shapes Asya's coming of age as a woman in modern Egypt. For Asya, education, love, sexuality and marriage are bound up with, and touched by, the violent conflicts between Egypt and Israel -as well as the seductions, and disappointments, of Europe.
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'Ahdaf Soueif is one of the most extraordinary chroniclers of sexual politics now writing' EDWARD SAID, author of Orientialism

'A convincing and skilful writer' SUNDAY TIMES

'Highly unusual and richly impressive' GUARDIAN

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Sep 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9781408838280

Ahdaf Soueif

Ahdaf Soueif was born in Cairo. She is the author of Aisha, Sandpiper, In the Eye of the Sun and the bestselling novel The Map of Love, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1999. Her collection of cultural and political essays, Mezzaterra, was published in 2004, as was her translation of I Saw Ramallah by Mourid Barghouti. She has been awarded the Blue Metropolis Literary Prize (in Montreal) and the Constantin Cavafis Award (in Cairo and Athens), and is also the founder of the Palestine Festival of Literature, PalFest, for which she was awarded the Hay Medal for Festivals in 2017. Ahdaf Soueif is also a journalist and her work is syndicated throughout the world. For the last five years she has been a key political commentator on Egypt and Palestine, and throughout the 2011 uprisings in Cairo Adhaf Soueif reported front the ground for the Guardian, and appeared on television and radio. She lives in London and Cairo.

Reviews for In the Eye of the Sun

[imyril · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Terribly well written and dealing with various interesting and important theme, but oh my word it goes on and on. And on. And on (and I don't normally object to large volumes). I struggled to the end and lost most of my sympathy for the protagonist in doing so.

[monzrocks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sprawling novel about a privileged young Egyptian woman, Asya, beginning with her as a teenager and following her for a decade of her life. Family, love, marriage, the political climate of the 60's and 70's in the Middle East, are all feature. I loved it and felt I could really relate to the protagonist. Her writing, characters, and descriptions are especially wonderful.