The Prince of the Marshes by Rory Stewart

The Prince of the Marshes: and other occupational hazards of a year in Iraq by Rory Stewart (2006)
Read: May 2011

We bought Rory Stewart’s second book first (if that makes sense) as we thought it sounded more interesting; a walk through Afghanistan, as opposed to being a civil servant in Iraq. On reading it though we realised that both were so linked in the Middle East that we really had to read this too. We also so enjoyed his other book; his writing style, his understanding of the region and the people, that we decided we really had to read all that was going of his.

This book was fascinating again because of the understanding Stewart has of the region and its people and culture. It’s also brilliant to see some of the ‘inside workings’ of what you hear on the news about trying to restore order and hand back power to the people. The frustrations Stewart has with his task are the same that any employee has – you start one job, and then you’re given a different job to do before you’ve had a chance to really finish the first one properly! Except that his job takes place in a country that is somewhere between occupation and tribal civil war. The real accounts of compound living and the struggles of constant work and constant bombardment from all angles – with words and bombs – are well written and a must read.

Without being too taxing at all, this book gives real insight to the people and process over just one year. It is done with sensitivity to the people of Iraq that he is trying to serve and the situation that he is trying to manage. A really great book that must be read to gain an understanding of the region and the difficulties of attempting to transfer a system of governance from one area to another without consideration of the specifics of the people and the place.

The Alexander Cipher by Will Adams

The Alexander Cipher by Will Adams (2007)
Read: May 2011

Another one of those charity shop buys - a brick paperback of a rolicking adventure centred around finding the tomb of Alexander. We picked it up because of the Egypt connection to have a light read.
We were having a discussion recently about how we are going to get all these books onto our next posting whenever we leave Cairo (we've filled three shelves on the bookcase and now one and a half of these have a double layer of books!) and I said that maybe we just take the 'Egypt' books we really like and leave some others behind "Like this one, The Alexander Cipher!" but Scotty replied that actually it wasn't a bad book - so I thought I'd better read it to be sure.

He was right, it's not a bad book at all. I've finished it in just about a week of bus journies I think (I've got a bus book and a bed book right now) partly because it wasn't a hard read, but also because it was a quick moving story that meant you wanted to pick it up again.

Thr first third of the book jumps between a few different characters and gradually their stories converge. The female lead, Gaille, is a bit too wet for my liking - the author hasn't quite managed to gain my sympathy for her. Knox, the male lead, is a bit more get up and go and his plans whilst audacious do manage to get pulled off. Whilst their stories converge in the present, there is also a back story to do with the death of Gaille's father, Knox's parents and Elaina's husband. This does seem far fetched that the back story is linked and that none of them had met eachother before.

What I enjoyed most about this book was reading about the places we know here in Egypt. Yes I've read books set in Cairo and Alex before, but here they visited Sharm, Tanis and the delta and Siwa with its coastal road. Scott had read this before our trip to Siwa last month with the P's and I can see why he was so excited to go there and search out the Temple of Amon himself. Great stuff. There was just one point towards the end where it was hard to keep track of who was dead, nearly dead, or shooting who. The story itself left it open to almost write a sequal, but I doubt it.

OK - so this ones a keeper!

Jemo by Stephen P Robertson

Jemo: An alternative account of Operation Crossroads by Stephen P Robertson (2010)
Read: May 2011

This self-published book was sent to me by the author - who also sent me the High Noon book read/reviewed at the start of the year. Prior to reading the book I wasn't aware of Operation Crossroads and this book therefore illuminated that and in particular the ethical issues around controlling (or not) such experiments.
A quick and easy read with chapters that kept the pace up. The characters are explored initially, but then developed as individuals and the story sees them trying to bind together to save falling apart. Nice epilogue.

Empire of Sand by Robert Ryan

Empire of Sand by Robert Ryan (2008)
Read: April-May 2011

Picked up who knows when in a charity shop most likely. It wasn't just the 'sand' in the title that attracted us to this, but that it was about Lawrence of Arabia. We've become fascinated with Lawrence of Arabia since watching a brilliant documentary by Rory Stewart (who we've become equally fascinated with since too) where he looked at what Lawrence actually did in the Africa campaign, his words of advice and how these are used (or not) now with current conflict / western presence in the area. Really really interesting struff!

The book is a fictional account, but I did check a few things with Scotty as some of them rang true - there are a few real events and characters it seems, but the story is a ficticious account and does include some untruths (there is a theme in the book that Lawrence might not be his name, but according to Scotty this hasn't come up before). I really liked the first half of the book which is set in Cairo and includes trips out on his bike to Maadi, some ancient sites and small villages. Great colonialism scenes in the city and then TE trying to fit in and do things his way. The second half sees him travelling through the desert and so reminded me of Fienees and the Ubur hunt. The great thing about TE's desert travel is them trying to work out how to get their rolls desert-proof! I figured ahead a few of the twists around Wassmuss and his precious cargo and the bloodshed probably did compare to the bloodshed at the time.

I really want Scotty to read this one now so that I can ask him more about where the balance lies between accepted history and fictional account.