Review of Shahrazad’s Gift
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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Shahrazad's Gift" by Gretchen Mccllough.]
This is a fiction book that reflects the author having lived in Cairo, learning Arabic, and meeting so many different people. It tries to delineate the eccentricities of Cairo in an euphemic but, to an extent, funny way. It consists of eleven stories, each with its own storyline but telling us a little more about Cairo. The stories are short but have connections to each other, and some stories share characters. Shahrazad's Gift by Gretchen McCullough gives one an original look at happenings in Cairo.
This book really reflects on the author’s stay in Cairo, as it taught me a lot about the place and showed that the author was familiar with the place and knew the culture and lifestyle. Each short story in the book taught me something about Cairo, and I loved that. I liked how the first story showed me an example of a typical wedding in Cairo, as I saw Batilda and her costume maker attending a wedding. The second story showed me how living in a flat in Cairo could be sometimes, as I saw Keiko constantly complaining of noise coming from a supposedly empty flat. In the third story, I saw Cairo from Joe’s point of view as somewhere he would love to go back to if only he could. The fourth story showed me an example of the kind of relationships neighbors living in the same home in Cairo have, as I saw Hoda and Ugly Duck constantly showing their dislike for each other, but at the same time, Hoda was very worried when she didn't see Ugly Duck for a long time.
Thereafter, stories five and six elucidated how some people in Cairo cared enough about their maids. The seventh story goes on to show me the average lifestyle of a woman who lived alone, loved to drink, and also told me about the terrorism in Cairo. Afterwards, the eighth story showed me an example of the relationship between a doctor and patient. Then the ninth story told me how nice the people of Cairo can be and gave insight about how an average day in Cairo with people going about their daily activities can suddenly become a day to remember. Lastly, the tenth and eleventh stories showed me how those with power sometimes treat the masses and told me more about the terrorism in Cairo.
I also appreciated the fact that there were a lot of new words to learn. I was also intrigued by the writing style and the fact that each story was unique in its own way. Most importantly, I enjoyed learning more about the ways of Cairo. The only thing I disliked was that the fifth story had so many headings that did not relate to the story; hence, it kept disrupting the flow of reading.
I would rate the book five out of five stars because the writing style was unique, there were no grammatical errors, and it had the ability to engage people who love learning new things. I recommend it to people who want to learn new words or more about Cairo. I also appreciate how the book was exceptionally edited.
******
Shahrazad's Gift
View: on Bookshelves
This is a fiction book that reflects the author having lived in Cairo, learning Arabic, and meeting so many different people. It tries to delineate the eccentricities of Cairo in an euphemic but, to an extent, funny way. It consists of eleven stories, each with its own storyline but telling us a little more about Cairo. The stories are short but have connections to each other, and some stories share characters. Shahrazad's Gift by Gretchen McCullough gives one an original look at happenings in Cairo.
This book really reflects on the author’s stay in Cairo, as it taught me a lot about the place and showed that the author was familiar with the place and knew the culture and lifestyle. Each short story in the book taught me something about Cairo, and I loved that. I liked how the first story showed me an example of a typical wedding in Cairo, as I saw Batilda and her costume maker attending a wedding. The second story showed me how living in a flat in Cairo could be sometimes, as I saw Keiko constantly complaining of noise coming from a supposedly empty flat. In the third story, I saw Cairo from Joe’s point of view as somewhere he would love to go back to if only he could. The fourth story showed me an example of the kind of relationships neighbors living in the same home in Cairo have, as I saw Hoda and Ugly Duck constantly showing their dislike for each other, but at the same time, Hoda was very worried when she didn't see Ugly Duck for a long time.
Thereafter, stories five and six elucidated how some people in Cairo cared enough about their maids. The seventh story goes on to show me the average lifestyle of a woman who lived alone, loved to drink, and also told me about the terrorism in Cairo. Afterwards, the eighth story showed me an example of the relationship between a doctor and patient. Then the ninth story told me how nice the people of Cairo can be and gave insight about how an average day in Cairo with people going about their daily activities can suddenly become a day to remember. Lastly, the tenth and eleventh stories showed me how those with power sometimes treat the masses and told me more about the terrorism in Cairo.
I also appreciated the fact that there were a lot of new words to learn. I was also intrigued by the writing style and the fact that each story was unique in its own way. Most importantly, I enjoyed learning more about the ways of Cairo. The only thing I disliked was that the fifth story had so many headings that did not relate to the story; hence, it kept disrupting the flow of reading.
I would rate the book five out of five stars because the writing style was unique, there were no grammatical errors, and it had the ability to engage people who love learning new things. I recommend it to people who want to learn new words or more about Cairo. I also appreciate how the book was exceptionally edited.
******
Shahrazad's Gift
View: on Bookshelves
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