The View from Garden City
by Carolyn Baugh
Overview
From the Publisher
Author Carolyn Baugh tells the moving story of a young American student living in the Garden City district of Cairo. Having come to study Arabic, she learns far more from the Egyptian women, young and old, she meets within the swirl and tumult of Garden City. Living, loving, and flourishing amid the fierce inflexibility of tradition, these women reveal a fascinating world of arranged marriages, secret romances, and the often turbulent bonds between four generations of Arab mothers and daughters.
My thoughts
This is a book that grabs you by the heart and doesn't let go. Sometimes you read with joy and a feeling of peace. Sometimes you read with sadness and regret. And sometimes you read with anger. This book that details the personal relationship experiences of six different women in Cairo is an emotional read that will cause you to think about your own relationships as well as those of people close to you.
The author shares the intimate stories of women she encountered as she studied in Cairo. As I read each story, I couldn't help but wonder what the stories are of my neighbor, my neighbor's mother and grandmother, a casual acquaintance and a friend of that acquaintance. Would the stories be similar to the ones in the book? Stories of love, heartbreak, deception, dejection and defiance?
This is a remarkable book that could very well be a textbook in the study of women. The more we are different, the more we are alike. It made me do some soul searching, and made me appreciate who I am and where I'm at in life.
The author of this book has a gift for prose. Her descriptions put you right there on the streets of Cairo, seeing, smelling, touching, hearing, and occasionally tasting. Very gifted author with a sometimes magical, sometimes difficult story to tell.
Favorite Passage
I am overwhelmed. I am the most discomfited of dancers. Simultaneously, chillingly, I am certain that the wedding guests sense it to be a sad occasion, yet all are in desperate conspiracy to produce a joyful atmosphere. They dance madly. As though ... as though if they were to stop, and cast a thoughtful eye on the bride and groom, the illusion would be dispelled. The party dresses and hairspray and starched collars and lipsticked lips would melt away, and all present would be left standing in the rags of Huda's despair.
