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In the Eye of the Sun
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Set amidst the turmoil of contemporary Middle Eastern politics, this vivid and highly-acclaimed novel by an Egyptian journalist is an intimate look into the lives of Arab women today. Here, a woman who grows up among the Egyptian elite, marries a Westernized husband, and, while pursuing graduate study, becomes embroiled in a love affair with an uncouth Englishman.
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Paperback, 816 pages
Published
April 3rd 2000
by Anchor
(first published 1993)
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Hana
It's well over 700 pages. Depends on which publication you're reading.
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of In the Eye of the Sun
After 800 pages of easy reading emotional turmoil I was so involved with the characters I wanted to read on and spend more time with Asya and her generation as they grew older - my hunger to know them better and find out what happened to them only increased, especially Deena, Asya's generous, politically conscious, brilliant yet worldly science graduate sister, who I liked most of all. Undoubtedly one of the attractions of the book is the aesthetic and recreational variety of the lifestyle the
...more
Review and rating to come.
Jun 05, 2015
Aubrey
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Aubrey by:
Zanna
"You don't have to live with your choices for ever."This book's an odd duck, in that you'd be hard pressed to find fifty more like it to fill up your Modern Library's Best Books of the 20th century list, which is probably why the latter looks the way it does. For this work, the length, the gender, the author's ethnic nationality actually corresponding to the narrated place: it makes sense when one comes across a far more popular Man Booker contestant in the author's bibliography, but that was ...more
Nothing here really on the artsy prosey side. Just straight literalist realist stuff (no bells no whistles) about stuff that is interesting. So come here for the what-its-about. And frankly I cave to our multi=cultural evaluationalism ; a feminist Egyptian pov is probably a good think to throw into your novel reading experience. [sure, it could've been a few pages shorter of course but what would you've done with that one non=reading day you may have gained with 100 pages fewer in the eye of the
...more
Aug 18, 2008
jo
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
those who love middlemarch, anna karenina, madame bovary, portrait of a lady, the middle east
Shelves:
africa,
im-emigration-post-colonial
***finished this book, and this endless, sprawling review!***
i'm finding myself liking this a lot, yet also being a bit tired of it. i wish it were shorter. at the same time, i deeply enjoy the language and a part of me will be sad when this ends.
as people have pointed out here, soueif is consciously reprising the style of the massive 19th century novel centered around the plight of an unhappy heroine, and the references to Anna Karenina and Middlemarch abound. i have not read Anna Karenina, and ...more
i'm finding myself liking this a lot, yet also being a bit tired of it. i wish it were shorter. at the same time, i deeply enjoy the language and a part of me will be sad when this ends.
as people have pointed out here, soueif is consciously reprising the style of the massive 19th century novel centered around the plight of an unhappy heroine, and the references to Anna Karenina and Middlemarch abound. i have not read Anna Karenina, and ...more
This is 3.5 stars, rounded up.
This book was completely different from what I expected. Instead of a sweeping family saga it promised to be, it was nearly 800 pages of solipsist whining of a privileged young woman. Yet although I was frequently irritated out of my senses, I was never, ever bored.
Reason 1: a crucial part of the story revolves around whether the protagonist, Asya, will or will not write her Ph.D. thesis. Yes, I know what it sounds like, but as anyone who tried to write a Ph.D. ...more
This book was completely different from what I expected. Instead of a sweeping family saga it promised to be, it was nearly 800 pages of solipsist whining of a privileged young woman. Yet although I was frequently irritated out of my senses, I was never, ever bored.
Reason 1: a crucial part of the story revolves around whether the protagonist, Asya, will or will not write her Ph.D. thesis. Yes, I know what it sounds like, but as anyone who tried to write a Ph.D. ...more
I wish Soueif ended the novel where I left off two days ago (around page 500). The first part of the novel, when the protagonist, Asya, is still in Egypt was far more interesting, I'm not enthralled with her story once she moves to England. What takes up much of the novel's energy, is Asya's relationship with her husband, Saif. I like the few parts when we get to read Saif's thoughts the most. But those become increasingly rare as the novel progresses. There are so many of the other characters
...more
Mar 31, 2010
Niledaughter
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
east-and-west
what a heart breaking book !!
So where should start from ?!
The novel presents life between 1967 to 1980 in the middle east moving to Europe .. , so in the back ground ; we see the historical events that took place in that period ,Egypt , the wars with Israel , Palestine situation ..Jordan ..Lebanon , Saudi Arabia , Syria & Iran , the political transformation From Naser to Sadat , all the detailed changes : economically , socially , culture & even in Urban patterns .
While on the front we ...more
So where should start from ?!
The novel presents life between 1967 to 1980 in the middle east moving to Europe .. , so in the back ground ; we see the historical events that took place in that period ,Egypt , the wars with Israel , Palestine situation ..Jordan ..Lebanon , Saudi Arabia , Syria & Iran , the political transformation From Naser to Sadat , all the detailed changes : economically , socially , culture & even in Urban patterns .
While on the front we ...more
I don't know what it is about this book but it hurts to finish it. I love Asya, and Saif, and every little detail in this story.
So far this book is amazing! However, my semester started before I could finish, so I'll be in suspense until December. I think it's a fantastic window into the lives of women in the contemporary Middle East, and in particular, the choices they are faced with vis-a-vis marriage, sex, and love. It's really beautifully written, too.
So now I'm finished, and I have to say, I liked this book more when I reading it this summer. I still like it very much. However, there were at least 100 pages during ...more
So now I'm finished, and I have to say, I liked this book more when I reading it this summer. I still like it very much. However, there were at least 100 pages during ...more
I've spent 3 months reading this amazing novel. I must say i've enjoyed every single word. It's a journey through history since Abdel Nasser's days till the final days of Sadat, yet it's not a historical novel, it rather tells how people lived their day to day lives during that time with highlights on a love story that makes a person wonders.... Does love truely means that two persons should melt inside one being, or should each one maintain their own independence or just reach a certain point
...more
i'm totally in love with the narrative style
I am finding this book confusing. There are times when I really don't like the format that the author is using. Then I get mad at how stupid the characters seem . . . well, the actions they take. But it still is an interesting view on the history/times in Egypt when Nasser and Sadat were running things, various Egyptian military actions with the Israelis, Suez Canal, young egyptian students thinking they are revolutionaries. Actually, it can be interesting to understand some of the background to
...more
In order to read this book I think someone must be interested in both feminine emotions and egyptian culture.
It deals with the maturity of a young egyptian girl belonging to the cultural elite of Cairo during the 60's and 70's. The personal plights she faces about desire, sex, love and affection during her growth are stressed by the fact that she lives abroad for a certain period of time. She discovers through a quite nerve-wracking process that she does not identify herself with the path that ...more
It deals with the maturity of a young egyptian girl belonging to the cultural elite of Cairo during the 60's and 70's. The personal plights she faces about desire, sex, love and affection during her growth are stressed by the fact that she lives abroad for a certain period of time. She discovers through a quite nerve-wracking process that she does not identify herself with the path that ...more
I have taken this vast, encyclopedic, sometimes messy, and often gorgeous novel with me on train rides and excursions throughout the city, and maybe that's for the best, maybe I wouldn't have appreciated it in one extended, epic, sit-down dose. I was genuinely sad for it to be over, and that doesn't happen really often for me with novels, as much as I read novels.
I tried to figure out what "drives" this book and sustains it past 700 pages. I think, through all nuance and juxtaposition and ...more
I tried to figure out what "drives" this book and sustains it past 700 pages. I think, through all nuance and juxtaposition and ...more
I read this to get a better understanding of the role of women in the Arab world, and I got exactly that. This is a particular perspective a very educated woman raised in a relatively liberal family in Egypt, living for much of the book in England but I feel from that perspective I learned a lot. Souief has a knack for including just the right amount of details for readers unfamiliar with the culture and traditions of Egypt. This is a very long book, but it was a fast read, because the writing
...more
This book was recently recommended to me by an Egyptian feminist who said, "Read this book, and you'll understand everything we go through." While I didn't find this book to be as analytical as "A Border Passage" - it is billed as fiction, after all - I thought "In the Eye of the Sun" was deeply reflective and moving. As a woman living in Egypt, educated in the West (as a grad student, no less), and struggling to understand the WHY of things here, I thought it was an excellent read. I don't know
...more
This was incredibly powerful, so much so that at times it made me dizzy. There were two components to this coming of age story that were fascinating: first, the complex male-female relationships and the brutally accurate ups and downs of a marriage. The second was the middle eastern setting; Soueif placed her characters against a political background, which made the novel rich and fascinating. I came out of it floored by the emotional aspects of the novel and as well as feeling as if I'd gained
...more
Sensational...moved me like no other book. Beautiful in every sense
it has been two days since I have finished the book and till now everytime I walk around the apartment, I automatically reach for the book to read a bit. I miss it so much.
Let's talk about Ahdaf Soueif a little. She is like the most underrated Egyptian author I have come across so far. Such an easiness and grace in her writing that makes eth so reachable, so relatable! The chapters with Asya and Gerald were so frustrating for me as if I were Asya herself fearing for eth and not willing to do ...more
Let's talk about Ahdaf Soueif a little. She is like the most underrated Egyptian author I have come across so far. Such an easiness and grace in her writing that makes eth so reachable, so relatable! The chapters with Asya and Gerald were so frustrating for me as if I were Asya herself fearing for eth and not willing to do ...more
This was a great, great book. Great in its hefty, many-paged hugeness as well as the scope of the story it told.
The story flips between life in a sometimes-war-torn and always-in-turmoil Egypt against the rainy and grey and extremely 'normal' England. The contrasts between life in the heat, and life in the cold; life in Muslim and Arab worlds with life in Westernised countries; sexual freedom and sexual inhibitions are all excellent.
We are plunged into the life of a fallible human being. The ...more
The story flips between life in a sometimes-war-torn and always-in-turmoil Egypt against the rainy and grey and extremely 'normal' England. The contrasts between life in the heat, and life in the cold; life in Muslim and Arab worlds with life in Westernised countries; sexual freedom and sexual inhibitions are all excellent.
We are plunged into the life of a fallible human being. The ...more
I deeply loved this book. At one & the same time it was a beautiful book to read, with wonderful characters, but also a painful book to read, with characters you just want to shake some sense into. I guess that means the Soueif has written engaging, believeable characters about who you very much care. It was painful and annoying as all get out to follow Asya as she virtually conspires with others to make a hash of her life. She is modern and free, while at the same time, a passive victim.
...more
This was the first book I ever read about the Middle East, written by an Arab author. Were I to reread this now, I would probably tell you about about sexual and class politics and identity in post-colonial Egypt, but I confess I have not read this book in quite some time and writing this I'm rather tempted to pick it up again, just to see what it's like. Yet doing so endangers my memories of it, of realizing that not every book I read about the Middle East must be Serious Works of Nonfiction
...more
Above all this is a love story. An intelligent, headstrong girl comes of age and wants sexual fulfillment and romantic love with the man of her dreams. We see how this plays out in the Middle East.
The setting is Egypt from 1967 to 1980. We see the humiliation of the war with Israel, the relationship with the Palestinians, the politics of peace process with Sadat and we see the people withstand the crushing weight of a repressive political regime.
More than that we see what it means to be a an ...more
The setting is Egypt from 1967 to 1980. We see the humiliation of the war with Israel, the relationship with the Palestinians, the politics of peace process with Sadat and we see the people withstand the crushing weight of a repressive political regime.
More than that we see what it means to be a an ...more
I loved "The Map of Love" and therefore was eager to read another book by Ahdaf Soueif. I was totally absorbed in the beginning of this book. Events in Eygpt and around the Middle East are interwoven with the life story of the main character, Asya, and her family and friends. Later in the book, when Asya is suffering in an unhappy marriage and an unstimulating graduate school program in England, the book starts to move painfully slowly, but when she gets back to Eygpt the book feels alive again.
This book reminds me of Richardson's Pamela, where I kept on cheering on the narrator in her quest at suicide. Except Asya doesn't really attempt suicide. Oddly, though, I found myself unable to put this book down, which is a feat considering that it is a thick tome that inspires thoughts of what paraphernalia I might be able to hide within its covers given a sharp X-acto knife and some paper-cutting skills. Nonetheless I can't be too mean considering how doggedly I continued to read this thing.
...more
I picked this up, I think, in Sennocke House, many many years ago. I read it now because I had a week of holiday and thought it would be a good opportunity to read something long. It took a long while to get interested in it, and it's awfully long for what it is, but I found Asya's story interesting and a bit sad.
Jun 29, 2019
Micebyliz
added it
A long but very interesting and engaging novel. I had started it several times but this time i took it on a long trip! Characters were presented with depth and feeling, places were described clearly and i felt like i was eating the food. what else is there?> :)
Fantastic book
I had read Soueif's book "The Map of Love" a few years ago and loved it. Reading this one second, I found it to be equally absorbing but so different. The first half really swept me away with the coming of age stories, different character perspectives, and introduction of relationships. Add a consistent narrative of the political climate in Egypt (which carries throughout the entire novel) regarding issues with Israel and defining the relationship with Palestine (the novel covers 60's, 70's,
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| http://healthnbeautyfacts.com/biocilium/ | 1 | 1 | Jan 27, 2017 01:52AM | |
| Middle East/North...: Egypt : In the eye of the sun | 79 | 62 | Jun 21, 2015 04:55AM |
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Ahdaf Soueif (Arabic: أهداف سويف) is an Egyptian short story writer, novelist and political and cultural commentator. She was educated in Egypt and England - studied for a PhD in linguistics at the University of Lancaster.
Her novel The Map of Love (1999) was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and subsequently translated into 21 languages. Soueif writes primarily in English, but her ...more
Her novel The Map of Love (1999) was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and subsequently translated into 21 languages. Soueif writes primarily in English, but her ...more
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“She had been wrong to think it wouldn't matter that much to him, yes, he took her for granted, of course he did , but he took her for granted - not like an old coat in the corner of a dark cupboard, as she'd put it to herself , but like the very air that he breathed .”
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“You know, I've been thinking: all the women in the books you like -- Sartre and Camus and all that -- they don't really exist. Not as people. They're only there to wait for the men. To love them and be loved back or not -- mostly not; to be beaten up or killed; to appear as a face on the wall of Meurseault's cell--”
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