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Lyrics Alley

3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 · rating details · 393 ratings · 115 reviews

Lyrics Alley is the story of an affluent, influential Sudanese family shaken by the shifting powers in their country and the near tragedy that threatens the legacy they’ve built for decades.

In 1950s Sudan, the powerful and sprawling Abuzeid dynasty has amassed a fortune with their trading firm, one of the only indigenous companies in a business dominated by their British o...more

Paperback, 320 pages

Published December 16th 2010 (first published 2010)

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Jun 08, 2011 Kinga rated it 3 of 5 stars

So this is another saga about a patriarchal family in exotic setting. Don't you love those? Publishers sure do - there is a new one every two weeks.

'Lyrics Alley' starts bizarrely with a family tree, even though there are only two generations on it - two brothers and their children. Who needs a tree? Please, I am a pro! I eat your tree for breakfast. I read Hundred Years of Solitude and got that under control and let me tell you there were about twelve generations, three hundred characters and a...more So this is another saga about a patriarchal family in exotic setting. Don't you love those? Publishers sure do - there is a new one every two weeks.

'Lyrics Alley' starts bizarrely with a family tree, even though there are only two generations on it - two brothers and their children. Who needs a tree? Please, I am a pro! I eat your tree for breakfast. I read Hundred Years of Solitude and got that under control and let me tell you there were about twelve generations, three hundred characters and all of them named Jose Arcadio and Aureliano.

This book is not brilliant but it's correct. The story is engaging, I established emotional connection with the characters, I got as indignant as usual over the opression of women and learnt a few exotic sounding words like 'hoash' and 'saraya'.

The main problem was that this book only scratched the surface and ended up being a little underwhelming. This was the first book I've read that had Sudan as its setting. The family drama was set against the backrop of Sudanese fight for independence and I hoped to learn more about the political turmoil of the era but sadly, it doesn't seem I will be able to hold a meaningful conversation about the history of Sudan anytime soon.

Another lost opportunity, I think, was the interesting parallel of situation Nur has found himself in and the situation most Muslim women find themselves in. It was only alluded at in one paragraph and then seemingly Aboulela abandonded that idea. There was a certain role reversal at some point and I thought it could've been explored more as it was a very interesting concept and not really done often in your usual family sagas.

On the other hand, comparisons between modern Egypt and backward Sudan and the constant juxtaposition of them was overdone at times.

The strenght of the book was its love story which was described subtly and without mawkishness, and most importantly - authentically.

I would say if you serendipitously come across 'Lyrics Alley', give it a go, but don't set out to look for it.(less)

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May 15, 2011 Edina Truth-Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Found the juxtapositions between Sudan and Egypt, tradition and advancement, pain and love to be extremely well persuaded through out the whole story. Totally engrossed in all the characters lives, it took me a while to acquaint with, but found everybody worthy of my attention.

I will not fail to mention the author's ability to invoke the human in me, the absolute empathy with some and rage with others. I hope all that read this pay close attention to ALL traditions, as some are perpetrated to b...more

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May 29, 2011 DubaiReader rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ew-pm-bk-grp, 2011

Well worth reading.

I really enjoyed this novel, set in Sudan and Egypt in the 1950s.
It covers a lot of ground, but the story at the centre is the true relationship between Sudan's famous poet and songwriter, Hassan Awad Aboulela and his childhood sweetheart, represented as Nur and Soraya in the novel. They were cousins, betrothed from a young age, until a serious accident changed everything. Hassan Awad Aboulela was Leila Aboulela's uncle and although he died before she was born, he remained qui...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Louise Wilson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a book I would never have read, but for belonging to a Book Club, an excellent way of broadening one’s reading.
The book told a very sad but uplifting story in a truly empathetic and humane fashion, although I found it hard to get into at first. The unfamiliar names prompted me to refer often to the family chart at the front, until I was well into the book. I also found the references to Muslim forms of worship very unfamiliar, but the author handled those issues so well that one could...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Moza rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Leila Aboulela’s “Lyrics Alley” is built with an attractive storyline with changing viewpoints that give interesting insights into life in a Sudanese society. It is a suggestive story of a major Sudanese family that is shaken by the power changes and near tragedy which threatens a heritage that has taken decades to build.The novel’s shifting viewpoints offer interesting insights into a culture with different characters that embody the clash between modernity and tradition. There is a clash betwe...more

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Jun 07, 2012 H.ak rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Laila Aboulela’s novel is very amazing; it shows the life in Sudan just before the independence. It offers an interesting family drama of the Middle East society, and specifically Sudanese culture and tradition, which are not very known for me. Showing the different between the two wives’ Waheeba who’s present the Sudanese heritage and tradition, and Nabella who’s show the Egyptian modernization, it create a conflict that is still being fight in our Islamic culture these days. I like the use of...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Maryam rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a thrilling piece of written art by Leila Abulela. She paints a clear picture of the pains of a love stopped by fate in the form of a fatal accident suffered by Nur. Not only does she excel in her writing, but also shows the ability to make a story from the pre-colonial era turn the heads of millions of modern readers, and this is intriguing, to say the least.
The book has a heavy impact on various groups in society especially the Muslim woman as it talks of her place in the Muslim religi...more
This is a thrilling piece of written art by Leila Abulela. She paints a clear picture of the pains of a love stopped by fate in the form of a fatal accident suffered by Nur. Not only does she excel in her writing, but also shows the ability to make a story from the pre-colonial era turn the heads of millions of modern readers, and this is intriguing, to say the least.
The book has a heavy impact on various groups in society especially the Muslim woman as it talks of her place in the Muslim religion in a world that is unexplored, with a lot of potential and yet covered with a cloud of skepticism among the natives who also think the British have overstayed their welcome period. It is impossible to admire how the book covers a variety of themes in one interesting piece and yet gives the reader an opportunity to relate with the subjects. The choice of words and their usage in the book is extremely relevant to the specific themes. This is especially prevalent in the most surfaced themes which are love and a search for spirituality and something to believe in. The vocabulary is simple making the book appealing to a large audience.
“This was where she belonged with Nur, right here, here in his songs. Here within the lyrics they were intimate, caught in the rhythm of his words, propelled by the substance of his dreams. These songs would be their story and these lyrics their home.” Any reader would see the love that burns in Soraya, Nur’s love when she says this. This is just one among the many pieces of Leila Abulela.
In conclusion, it is vital to note that the novel was inspired by the life of Aboulela’s uncle, a poet. The main question in the novel is; what is the purpose of artists in society. The novel shows the development of a youthful artist discerning and sharpening his gift. Nur realizes that he has lyrical talent and that it enriches his soul despite the fact that he has to fight with societal and parental disapproval. The novel is based on the alleyways of Sudan, Egypt, and Britain. The book further intricately outlines the concealed passageways of the brain and soul with all its rage, humiliation, love, and hate.
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Jun 05, 2012 Mk8 rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Set just before Sudan’s independence in the 1950s, Leila Aboulela’s novel focuses on Sudanese and Egyptian families. It is a family epic, which evolves around the Sudanese society and the conflict between modernization and their cultural traditions. From reading the book you learn that the younger generation is more liberal and so more open to the changes in their lives and traditions. This is also shown Mahmoud’s two wives, Nabilah and Waheeba. Nabila is portrayed as the modern one with the ope...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

We have few chances to see clearly into two other cultures that are foreign to us. In this case, a rich Father (Mahmoud Abuzeid) with two wives: one from the Sudan (Hajjah Waheeba: uneducated, old style beliefs, unattractive) and one ( Nabilah: modern, self based, attractive, and younger) from Cairo, Egypt. Inspired by the author's uncle's experience,the story centers on the consequences of cultural actions by each character on a daily basis. We get involved with the tension of two wives and the...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Norain MT rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hamra-library

If I were to judge this book based on literary value, the most I would give was three stars. The style of writing was simple and light-hearted, but too simple and easygoing to be called great. Good maybe, but not great. For non-English speakers who want to try reading English fiction, you can start from this. And, oh yeah, the editor deserve a good spanking for letting some obvious mistakes went unnoticed (but just a spanking; the only editor that should be slapped or even killed is Hilal Asyraf ...more

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Mar 26, 2011 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars

SPOILER ALERT…….

There is something seductive about this book. It is not just the poetry of the books poet Nur, his absolute and pure love for his cousin Soraya which drives his every word and thought and which continues to move and inspire him even when these are all he can move, but more, for this is a book which starts very slowly then you suddenly find yourself immersed into its very real sense of story, of time, of place. The differences between Mahmoud’s two wives, younger second wife Nabil...more SPOILER ALERT…….

There is something seductive about this book. It is not just the poetry of the books poet Nur, his absolute and pure love for his cousin Soraya which drives his every word and thought and which continues to move and inspire him even when these are all he can move, but more, for this is a book which starts very slowly then you suddenly find yourself immersed into its very real sense of story, of time, of place. The differences between Mahmoud’s two wives, younger second wife Nabilah, personifying the modern and older first Waheeba, the traditional, Egypt and the Sudan, Mahmoud’s courting of the young British bank manager and his wife to ensure business expansion loans to take the family business forward into the new Independent Sudan whilst continuing to run his family along very traditional lines.

Everywhere in this book there are balancing acts, Nur’s love and Soraya’s reputation, Nassir’s worthlessness and his brotherly love, the goodness of his brother Ustaz Badr, Arabic school teacher, private tutor, husband, father and his bad cousin Shukry. I have a lasting image of him his new daughter in one arm, his increasingly senile father to whom he owes everything he is, on the other arm,, as they quite literally teeter up the stairs to their new apartment, his heart a mix of joy and sadness, his duty making him miss out on his wish of seeing the look on the face of his wife as she first enters their dream apartment.

All the balances are tipped one way of the other by both the big and the small, by certain events, actions, or personal changes eg Nur’s accident, Ustaz Badr’s wrongful arrest, Waheeba’s circumcism of Nabilah’s daughter, Soraya getting permission to wear spectacles, Mahmoud’s eventual acceptance that Nur’s poetry should be popularised in radio songs, Nabilah seeing a different Soraya when she comes as a newly married woman to call on her in Cairo, Nur’s realisation that he would not have been the best husband for Soraya. Minor and major tipping points dotted randomly through the story alongside the changes happening to the Sudan itself as it breaks free from colonial rule, from Egyptian influence, and sets up its new government to stride forth in the world as a modern independent country just as Soraya does as a modern educated woman with modern, educated husband.

I should add the book’s slow start may be a reflection more of my recent thriller reads than anything else. I thought there were some very fine passages in this book: her depiction of Nur’s situation and his frustration, despair, hopes and aspirations is not surprisingly very convincing and very moving portrayed as his story is based on that of her father’s cousin Sudan’s poet Hassan Awad Aboulela. (The author writes about this inspiration here) ; but also Badr’s faith especially its manifestation as he worships in the mosque as he senses himself in the spiritual world with the angels alongside the real world of the stuttering iman and feels revived, renewed and elated. I just loved the mix of emotion present as Badr’s old father won’t let go of hugging the donkey before entering the new flat – him and us realizing that this is probably his last contact with nature, his last day outside, that he will enter the new flat and never again come out..

Every one of the characters in Lyrics Alley is made real for the reader and in that sense it is a lovely family saga where everyone has their part to play in making up the tapestry which is the Abuzeid household, which is Sudan. .

A thoroughly recommended read.
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Mar 06, 2011 Felice rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Author Lelia Aboulela brings us inside the closed world of a prosperous home in 1950's Sudan. In the larger world at this time Sudan was about to gain it's independence from Egypt and Great Britain and embark on a series of civil wars but those events are barely touched on in Lyrics Alley. That side of life is not what this novel is about. Lyrics Alley is smaller in scale and bigger in humanity.

Despite a lifestyle dedicated to custom, Mahmoud Abuzeid is a forward thinking man. He has successfull...more
Author Lelia Aboulela brings us inside the closed world of a prosperous home in 1950's Sudan. In the larger world at this time Sudan was about to gain it's independence from Egypt and Great Britain and embark on a series of civil wars but those events are barely touched on in Lyrics Alley. That side of life is not what this novel is about. Lyrics Alley is smaller in scale and bigger in humanity.

Despite a lifestyle dedicated to custom, Mahmoud Abuzeid is a forward thinking man. He has successfully managed the family business and been a wealthy and respected man in the community for many years. Mahoud has been grooming his favorite son Nur to take over the business. Mahoud's wives, the traditional, Sudanese born Waheeba and the much younger, Cairo born Nabilah speak for fight between the past and the future. Although Waheeba is Nur's mother and runs his household, Mahoud prefers the more cosmopolitan company of Nabilah. When war between the wives escalate and a tragedy befalls Nur change amid competing desires come to the family whether they all embrace it or not.

Although the political changes in Sudan are not made a specific part of the story in Lyrics Alley Aboulela finds other ways to bring the 20th century creeping into the Abuzeid enclave. The close knit character's searching for more choices, freedom and independence are manifesting themselves in this novel and not in harmonious ways. Mahoud has seen himself as the benevolent patriarch, deciding what's best for everyone without a thought of being challenged but change can be insidious, seductive, unstoppable even for a dictator.

Lyrics Alley is a thoughtful novel written in precise, controlled language. It is clear that Aboulela cares deeply about these characters. The loving hand she brings to their every day is juxtaposed by the big mountains Aboulela gives them to climb: tradition verses change, duty verses freedom, silence verses argument, and religion verses doubt without ever creating a villain. As the narrative shifts between different voices and mindsets and you desperately want everyone to be happy, but how often does that happen?
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Jan 13, 2012 Tze-Wen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: orange-prize, 2012

The author was inspired by her uncle Hassan Awad Aboulela, although she changed many elements of the story (including settings and characters) in order to create a fictional work instead of a biography of him, the poet. The poet in Lyrics Alley is young Nur Abuzeid, the prodigy and hope of the family. Unlike his older and alcoholic brother, he does well in school and has a bright future in front of him. His appetite for learning and poetry will never be satisfied, but with the rich and powerful...more The author was inspired by her uncle Hassan Awad Aboulela, although she changed many elements of the story (including settings and characters) in order to create a fictional work instead of a biography of him, the poet. The poet in Lyrics Alley is young Nur Abuzeid, the prodigy and hope of the family. Unlike his older and alcoholic brother, he does well in school and has a bright future in front of him. His appetite for learning and poetry will never be satisfied, but with the rich and powerful Mahmoud Abuzeid as his indulging father, Nur can ask for anything his heart desires. Of course, composing poetry is considered debauched and out of the question, but he is confident that he can continue his activities in secret. And when one day, his childhood sweetheart and first cousin Soraya finally becomes his wife, he will be able to share a modern Egyptian lifestyle with her. Both are rooted to their traditional Sudanese background, where it is common to have girls circumcised and the women, children and their servants spend their days in a hoash, a courtyard of sorts and centre of the house. Yet their modern schooling, Soraya's in Catholic school and Nur in a British boy's school, has opened their eyes to possibilities.
The stark differences between modern Egypt and "backward" Sudan are most clearly personified by Mahmoud's two wives: first wife Waheeba holds very traditional views and superstitious beliefs, while the much younger Nabilah represents both metropolitan Cairo and Mahmoud's modern side that he likes to show off so much to his business partners. At the beginning of the book, when Mahmoud falls ill, the wheels of change have already been set in motion. After many years of neglect, Waheeba suddenly regains her importance and she is reluctant to let go of it. Worldly Nabilah, who is used to being the treasured one, has been recalled to the family home in Umdurman. But instead of finding comfort in the abundant Abuzeid household, Nabilah feels stifled by all the visitors incessantly invading her privacy. I fully commiserated with her and found it equally difficult to understand the cruelty of circumcision and the lack of self-determination for women. In fact, Nabilah is one of the few who gets off lightly, while her daughter Ferial becomes a victim of the feud between the two wives.
As you may have grasped by now, I went through phases of conflicting opinions. While I do admire Aboulela's ability to not only bring the Abuzeid family to life, but also infuse them with colourful emotions, I felt infuriated by the rigid power of men over women. Idris, brother of Mahmoud Abuzeid and father to Soraya, refuses his daughter to wear prescription glasses for fear of her looking ugly. He does not intervene in the circumcision of his granddaughter and Ferial, because those are women's matters. Ustaz Badr, teacher of many of the Abuzeid offspring, keeps his wife close, so he will not succumb to temptation. Her temptation, as her wife, is acceptable. I found it off-putting how he is always pawing at her, pinching her body. As for Nassir, he is just a good-for-nothing drunk, who failed to consummate his wedding and who easily hires exotic dancers and the like with his father's money.
But even Mahmoud himself, who can be considered a Sudanese with modern views, is guilty of having an outdated superiority complex. Here, Nabilah has taken the children and departed for Cairo:

"What bewildered him was how unreasonable her demands were. [...] She wanted him to divorce Waheeba and leave Umdurman altogether. If she ever returned to Sudan, she said, she would only return to a villa in Khartoum, which would be hers alone. Women were indeed complicated and capricious. There was Nabilah, ready to hand over to Waheeba the whole of the saraya in exchange of a villa in Khartoum, half or even a quarter of its size. How, in God's name, did this make sense?
She was a little girl; that was how he was tending to view her, [...], a youngster who was refusing to grow up and become a woman. [...]
But he had no intention of divorcing her. Why woud he give up something he possessed and cherished? [...] He would forgive her everything if she came back. [...] Only one thing stuck in his throat, only one thing would be hard to overlook. She had shared his life and not understood him."

- Lyrics Alley

Honestly, what baffles me is how Mahmoud refuses to understand his wife, not the other way around. He is always the one calling the shots, even in refusing the divorce. He admits to seeing her as his possession, as a thing! How Nabilah suffers in the book and how she is humiliated by Waheeba with the rest of the family silently standing witness.
It is true that the book discusses many other events, but the inequality just kept eating away at me, so much that despite the author's talented writing I could not like Lyrics Alley more. Furthermore, keeping in mind that this is the 1950s and not the 2010s, I nevertheless found the first-cousin marriage phenomenon inappropriate and Ustaz Badr's devoutness a tad too much.(less)

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Dec 28, 2012 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked the perspective this gave me on a very different culture as well as recent history in the Sudan and Egypt. I learned a lot about how life could be for people in that time and those places. I also enjoyed the way the story carried forward in the consciousness of more than one character, although that early strength became a later weakness as the author chose to foreground and highlight one of the less interesting (to me) characters. Not who I would have chosen and an altogether more roman...more

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Apr 03, 2012 Petty Witter rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Set mainly in the Sudan and Egypt of the 1950's, Lyrics Alley, though centring largely on the fictionalised real-life story of Hassan Awad Aboulela (Nur in the book), a young man who, after a tragic accident changes his life forever, goes on to become an accomplished poet, this is also the fascinating story of the old giving way to the new as shown in the story of the two wives of patriarch, Mahmoud. Two powerful women, their stories make fascinating, if sometimes, shocking reading.

Not to be dis...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Erica121 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-african-fiction

I felt frustrated that this book alluded to a Sudanese and Egyptian history and Britain's role in that without really making it clear and I ended up on Wikipedia just to get some wider context. This was a very familiar style of book with lots of lovely descriptions and a family saga reinforcing the need to stay connected and support each other even at moments when people want to pull away. I really enjoyed seeing the sharp contrast in the modern and older generations. It was a pleasing read wit...more

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Oct 01, 2011 Hooma rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another impressive piece of writing from one of my favorite writers - Leila Aboulela. Though I would not call this work as good as her novel "Minaret," it is a strong piece of writing nonetheless.

Aboulela herself is from Sudan and like many authors she writes about what she knows. There are portions of this novel that are actually biographical. This novel takes place in the early 1950's, when British rule in North Africa is beginning to wane and traditioanl and more modern principles are frequ...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Mohannad El-tayeb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Leila Aboulela 's Novel is a wonderful piece, it takes you in a journey to the Sudan in the period before and during independence, it showed many customs, traditions, real places that were at that time. It also went to Egypt to show the contrast between these two countries at that time, and to show also similarities and bonds that were exited between these countries.

The Novel is based on a true story which is Hassan Awad Aboulela's (Leila Aboulela's Uncle) life story, a famous poet from the 1950...more

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Apr 08, 2011 Lorna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: orange-longlist, favorites

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book. I usually don't do that well with African lit, but this story was told so simply and beautifully that it was hard to put down. The juxtapositions between modernity and tradition, Egypt and Sudan, imprisonment and freedom, were really lovely.

Also, even though some characters were obviously on the wrong side of tradition (promoting subjugation of women, especially), most of them still managed to be well-rounded and sympathetic. Maybe with th...more

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Feb 20, 2012 Raidene rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I may have given this book 4 stars if I hadn't read that some reviewers were comparing the author to the highly esteemed Egyptian novelist and Nobel Prize winner, Naguib Mahfouz. Mahfouz's monumental work, The Cairo Trilogy, is much deeper in scope and breadth than Aboulela's story, written over many years.
But, both authors represent the much needed Arabic voice in contemporary literature and offer similar themes of domestic and famly life in male dominated cultures(Egypt and Sudan).
Aboulela do...more

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May 08, 2011 Victoria (Eve's Alexandria) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa, orange-prize, sudan, 2011

As with Minaret (Aboulela's first novel) I struggled a little with the moral implications of Lyrics Alley. The writing is smooth and often lovely, and I warmed to the characters almost immediately: the sisters, Fatma and Soraya, at the mercy of their old-fashioned father Idris; their uncle, Mahmoud, head of their family dynasty, and his paralysed son, Nur. The teacher, Ustaz Badr too. But, while I liked them immensely, I found it difficult to engage with their narrative arcs, and the cultural, r...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Abuzeid family is wealthy and powerful in 1950s Sudan. Still under British rule, the country functions successfully which is the first surprise in this beautifully written book. Mahmoud considers himself to be modern but has two wives, one a traditional Sudanese woman, the second much younger from Egypt. The various trials and conflicts among the extended family draw the reader into the center of the clan. When Nur, the younger son of the first wife has a serious accident which completely ch...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Jennifer D. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, books-i-own, 2011-books, in-translation

Lyrics Alley has some very beautiful moments but is a disjointed novel that never really pulls it together by the end. It is a quick and compelling story but the reasons for being pulled into the novel - the setting, the tragedy the characters, wondering about the outcomes - end up being less than fully realized. I was left dissatisfied, unfortunately, yet I am open to reading more by this author. I wonder, though, given the setting and political climate of the time (Sudan & Egypt, 1951 &...more

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Apr 14, 2013 Yvonne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Beautifully written.

This is my favourite of Leila Aboulela's novels. Like its title, her prose is always lyrical, and Lyrics Alley has an added confidence in its writing.

The novel is set in the 1950s as Sudan approaches independence from the UK. I knew little about Sudan's history, and this is deftly woven into the novel, without dominating it. Lyrics Alley is based on the true story of Aboulela's uncle, who turned to poetry after an accident.

In Lyrics Alley, Mahmoud Abuzeid is a prosperous b...more Beautifully written.

This is my favourite of Leila Aboulela's novels. Like its title, her prose is always lyrical, and Lyrics Alley has an added confidence in its writing.

The novel is set in the 1950s as Sudan approaches independence from the UK. I knew little about Sudan's history, and this is deftly woven into the novel, without dominating it. Lyrics Alley is based on the true story of Aboulela's uncle, who turned to poetry after an accident.

In Lyrics Alley, Mahmoud Abuzeid is a prosperous businessman who is head of an extended family that includes his two wives, his two sons, his brother and his brother's daughters. Mahmoud's two wives are in stark contrast: the first wife is Sudanese, menopausal and traditional; the second wife is young, Egyptian and modern. Mahmoud's two sons by his first wife are also in contrast. Nassir, the elder, in spite of being married, is irresponsible in work and play. Nur, the younger, is a brilliant scholar expected to go to Cambridge University in Britain. He is also betrothed to Soraya, his cousin, and their affection for each other is sensitively portrayed, as are the repercussions on their relationship of Nur's terrible accident.

Lyrics Alley is a multi-viewpoint novel and Aboulela shows us the lives of the characters through their eyes, allowing us to see their thoughts and feelings. Instead of judging the conditions in which the characters find themselves, Aboulela allows the characters to speak for themselves. For instance, we feel the young Soraya's indignation when her father doesn't allow her to have the spectacles she so desperately needs for school, and this incident reveals the plight of women at the time when men were looking forward to liberation! In the same way, Aboulela also weaves the issue of female circumcision into the narrative in a way that leaves no doubt about its impact. At the same time as she sensitively shows the feelings of the traditional wife, Waheeba, who is afraid of what she sees as the terrible consequences that would befall her daughter were she to remain uncircumcised.

One final character I would like to mention is Badr, who tutors Nur after his accident. His position is so lowly that Mahmoud does not remember his name. Badr is a complex character, a devout Muslim who struggles with guilt at not being able to maintain his ideals. One passage that stands out in my mind is when the teacher visits the mosque and feels a strong sense of spiritual connection but then wonders if it was all his imagination; afterwards he goes home feeling sure he's going to cope better now his ailing father and hapless cousin. Instead he flies into a rage and then feels frustrated at himself.

Lyrics Alley is a great blend of history and story, and throughout it all Aboulela writes with a sense of kindness, of understanding.

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Jun 24, 2012 Val rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: world-tour

The future for the Abuzeid family looks secure. Mahmoud, the head of the family, runs a successful business empire with the help of his brother Idris, the hindrance of his eldest son Nassir and with a potential heir in his younger son Nur. There is some conflict in the family between Mahmoud's first wife Waheeba, who is illiterate and traditionalist, and his second wife Nabilah, who is educated and modern, but nothing Mahmoud thinks he can't deal with. Soraya has a few disagreements with her fat...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Heather Goodman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Though it took me some time to find the rhythm of the book (the prose was more formal than my usual fare), the beauty of the story drew me in. Leila Aboulela tells the story of a family dealing with the paralysis of its wunderkind son, the one who displayed athleticism, intellect, and commitment to hard work. He was expected to marry his childhood sweetheart and take over the family business. But an accident has changed all that.
Aboulela writes to answer the question, "Why do bad things happen t...more Though it took me some time to find the rhythm of the book (the prose was more formal than my usual fare), the beauty of the story drew me in. Leila Aboulela tells the story of a family dealing with the paralysis of its wunderkind son, the one who displayed athleticism, intellect, and commitment to hard work. He was expected to marry his childhood sweetheart and take over the family business. But an accident has changed all that.
Aboulela writes to answer the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" She answers from her Muslim faith and weaves in several story lines to work through the question.
At times, her Muslim faith shares commonalities with my Christian faith: we serve a compassionate God (for her, Allah, and for me, Yaweh) who does not waste anything but in his sovereignty uses every suffering to draw the sufferer nearer to him. Her writing brought to mind the tune of Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose," though her rhythm differed from mine.
Other times, her Muslim faith reflected ideas I might call karma or even a yin-yang notion. Suffering in this life alleviates suffering one might have to experience in the afterlife to cleanse them. Or we live in the balance of trial and pleasure, of burden and joy. Sometimes this belief led to neat bows: this suffering happened so that this better thing could happen, etc. This may have worked in her book, but as a Christian, I believe that while God is sovereign, he's also given free will. The Fall and the Curse leave this world messy, though being redeemed by God. And Job teaches that we may never fully understand what is going on behind the scenes (at least in this life, if not for eternity).
Aboulela's characters are round, flawed, struggling, and (mostly) loveable (one character I generally wanted to slap). I grew and developed with them as they work through the suffering that has touched all of them in different ways.
She also portrays Sudan in the 1950s, with its struggle with independence from Britain and from Egypt and its sometimes disparity and sometimes embrace between modernism and traditionalism. She gives a wide range of beliefs within the Muslim faith and from political stances without making the book about either the Muslim faith or politics. She also shows the struggle for women. I appreciated learning about these aspects indirectly through the story.
I highly recommend this book as a haunting and sensitive family narrative.(less)

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Mar 13, 2012 Dana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed Minaret years ago and came across this book when browsing at my library. Leila Aboulela is a beautiful writer and this story set in Sudan was compelling. I hadn't known about Sudan's shared history with Egypt and that it had been a British colony in pretty recent history. Before its more well-known and recent history of civil war and unrest, Sudan was becoming a pretty cosmopolitan place, with inhabitants often grappling the line between traditional Sudanese culture and that of the Wes...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Katarzyna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's a nice saga about big arabian family, who by marriage joins traditions of two countries – Sudan and Egypt. But it doesn't mean calm coexistence, rather conflict beetwen two worlds – one full of traditions and rites and second one, more westernized. The writer from the muslim point of view shows us which values should win and which finally win. Interesting especially for our western world which very often sinks in chaos.
The book is full of arabian atmosphere, we can really smell an air, dry...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Wanderlust rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am going to come across sounding unimaginative I know, but Lyrics Alley is lyrical. A slow-paced introduction to the extended dynastic Abuzeid family leads one to identifying with the characters almost immediately. Slow-paced as the introduction is, the turn of events as the plot gives way is anything but. Lyrics Alley reads both like historical fiction - which it is not, and the dramatic work of fiction you want to sink your teeth into.

The plot centres around Mahmoud Abuzeid, a Sudanese whose...more I am going to come across sounding unimaginative I know, but Lyrics Alley is lyrical. A slow-paced introduction to the extended dynastic Abuzeid family leads one to identifying with the characters almost immediately. Slow-paced as the introduction is, the turn of events as the plot gives way is anything but. Lyrics Alley reads both like historical fiction - which it is not, and the dramatic work of fiction you want to sink your teeth into.

The plot centres around Mahmoud Abuzeid, a Sudanese whose life is a mélange of cultures, traditional Sudanese and modern Egyptian. Torn between the two worlds, he remains unavoidably and staunchly tied to his origins and his family in Sudan yet socially ambitious and yearning for acceptance in his new world. It is a story of families, love and heartbreak.

Central to the book is the story of Nur, Mahmoud's youngest son from his first marriage and the one hope has left that of an heir to take over the family business following the disappointment that is his eldest son. All hope and dreams are dashed however when Nur is in an accident that results in his becoming a paraplegic and therefore unable to take his place at the helm of his father's businesses. His dreams of going to study in London; of marrying his cousin, Soraya to whom he is betrothed have to change.

Leila Aboulela treats this family tragedy gently, with perspectives from all family members brought to the fore - and the subsequent changes in relationships as a result of Nur's accident detailed extensively.

In all this Mahmoud finds himself drawn more to his life in Sudan, both out of the guilt of wanting to leave but also being unable to; his second wife Nabilah, who for many years has tried to find her place in this family, finds herself drawing even further away, leaving Mahmoud's first Sudanese wife, Waheeba to handle the family issues and in the process try to win Mahmoud's affections.

Halfway through the book when Nabilah comes home to find her daughter having undergone a procedure she did not approve of, at the instruction of Waheeba - I went from feeling ambivalent about her presence and role in the family to taking sides with a strength made possible only by Aboulela's subtle, nuanced writing.

Nur's fate changes to now accommodate aspirations that he'd first hidden from his family of becoming a poet - he goes on to become a celebrated poet, making his family reluctantly proud and unsure of how this all fits into the traditional society in which they live. A complex plot that finds its way to its ultimate conclusion in a rhythmic manner without losing the reader.

It made me curious about the Sudanese-Egyptian historical ties, Britain's colonial past in this region given recent political uprisings and left me wanting more of writers coming out of this region, namely, the two Sudans.

(less)

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Jun 14, 2013 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Very interesting book. I wasn't sure I would connect with the lives of these very different characters. I know so little about Sudanese and Egyptian culture. But I did. I loved the story of a Sudanese family whose lives become intertwined with a woman who is Egyptian. The story takes place in Sudan after World War II and the connections between class, power, women's disempowerment and education are powerful. I loved the place language and poetry played in the story as well. A really wonderful bo...more

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About Leila Aboulela

Leila Aboulela grew up in Khartoum, Sudan where she attended the Khartoum American School and Sister School. She graduated from Khartoum University in 1985 with a degree in Economics and was awarded her Masters degree in statistics from the London School of Economics. She lived for many years in Aberdeen where she wrote most of her works while looking after her family; she currently lives and lect...more

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“Allah tests our patience and our fortitude. He tests out strength of faith. be patient and there will endless rewards for you, insha'Allah" - Utaz Badr” — 5 people liked it

“The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, When Allah loves a people, He tries them.” — 4 people liked it

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