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.

The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton

The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton (2007)
Read: April 2011

I picked this up when visiting the AUC bookfair a month or so ago. I really enjoyed browsing the publisher and small business stalls, but actually all I ended up buying where a few books from the AUC Press Seconds store where they had a deal (buy 4 books for 100LE). This was one of the first few I picked out - set in Kenya rather than Egypt, but Africa no less, but also about trying to make a difference in peoples lives, but this time using books and a mobile library.

The bookmobile is a caravan of camels that have been loaded up with boxes of donated books. This travels from the capital to different rural tribes and visits every two weeks for people to borrow books. Great idea - bring literacy to rural areas, not just the city.

But when thinking about it I was starting to really question it, as the books in the bookmobile had been donated from charitable types in the west and so were all in English. So this wasn't just about bringing literacy, but about bringing English to rural areas. I wasn't so behind this policy, even though there were good intentions surely we should be helping people with their own language and heritage first before putting ours onto them.

Anyway the protagonist was passionate about this project and it was interesting to see her perspective as someone totally unprepared for living in such a harsh environment and dealing with different cultural ways. Some parts of it reminded me of us moving out here. It was only though towards the end of the book that it dawns on her that there might be other cultural perspectives to her own about the bookmobile.

The narrative doesn't just stay with the American, but shifts to other characters. Part of the story is about the way the village decides to outcast people or not and lost loves there. To me though the important aspect of the story was the Americans final realisation that the precious bookmobile isn't the answer to anything. I think it was a high price for the village to pay for her to learn this lesson - the books seems to be more about her journey than theirs.

As you can tell although I enjoyed this book and found it interesting I really found that I didn't agree with the beliefs (is that the right word) behind it. It seemed that the author came round too to the fact that book libraries of western books wasn't neccessarily what was needed - or maybe that is my interpretation of the ending. It turns out that the bookmobile is a realconcept and visiting their website it is full of stats about how illiterate africa is....well books in english aren't going to help this! OK I'm being skeptical, but I do think there are better ways to help others.

Atlantis of the Sands by Ranulph Finnes

Atlantis of the Sands: The search for the lost city of Ubar by Ranulph Fiennes (1992)
Read: April 2011

Read almost entirely on the journies to and from Siwa over the easter break. Jane sent us this book via the P's who were coming out just before the break and I decided to have it as a bus read because I knew we'd be going through miles upon miles of desert.


The book was well chosen, as it too was miles upon miles of desert. Unidentifiable desert. Sand and sand. Tracks and tracks. Stories and guides. Retracing steps and imaginging new routes.

The books starts with Fiennes posted in Oman with the army and here he starts his interest in finding the lost city mainly through a passion and interest in the local people and the desert. As the book progresses Fiennes becomes arrogant about his achievements and need for sponsorship to basically have a jolly -  it feels and the only redeeming feature is that his initial passion does lie with the people of the desert and a desire to explore and survive exploring the desert. It was good to read this book whilst we were doing our own desert travels; seeing how they would prepare for an expedition, who would they talk to to find the right track, what landmarks would they use etc. and it was interesting to read more about Oman, but didn't endear me to Fiennes himself so I doubt I'll seek out any of his other books.

A Girl Made of Dust by Naalie Abi Ezzi

A Girl Made of Dust by Naalie Abi Ezzi (2008)
Read: April 2011

Found at the AUC Press outlet store where there are shelves upoon shelves of books that are only loosely sorted into categories (fiction, non-fiction, AUC press and other are the categories I think....oh, and 'oversized'). There were just so many that I had to throw out the whole 'don't judge a book by its cover' and scan the spines and make a few pics. Choices were based on arabic-sounding author names or titles or something that looked like it was about travel or Egypt / MENA. I thought I had to have a rule, as otherwise book buying would just get silly! I did break this rule with one book; Johnny Cash - Walk The Line as we loved the film and it's a great story so I thought the book would be an acceptable buy!

This was a really lovely find. Ruba is a young girl who lives in Lebanon. She is Christian, but her closest friend is a muslim boy. Her father though is the mystery as he is quiet and doesn't leave the house. Israeli troops invade and the world is turned upside down. The mystery of the father extends further when his brother arrives and lightens the household, but his quick exit leaves more questions than answers. The grandmother knows all though and is trying to hold the family together.

A really lovely read with nice characters created and story told with emotion and feeling for the situation as a family, as a people and as a young girl.