In Search of Ali Mahmoud; An American Woman in Egypt.

by Vivian Gornick

Book by Gornick, Vivian

343 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Vivian Gornick is the author of, among other books, the acclaimed memoir Fierce Attachments and three essay collections: The End of the Novel of Love, Approaching Eye Level, and, most recently, The Men in My Life. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Bob Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Within and without---a voyage of discovery

Vivian Gornick lived with an Egyptian physicist for six months in Cambridge, Mass. They broke up but she kept wondering what made him the way he was. She decided to go to Egypt to see his family and try to understand that small fraction of Egyptian society (upper class) that they represented. She went with a contract to write a book. If you think you can imagine a Jewish woman going to Cairo in 1971 and living with an Arab family, forget it. You can't. This is a very sensitive, intelligent book which brings to the fore the basic humanity of one Vivian Gornick, whoever she may be. (Seemed she'd written a lot of books, judging from the entries on Amazon, but I'd never heard of her except for this book.) Perhaps Ms. Gornick never managed to reach the real Ali Mahmoud, but she certainly gives a very close-up picture of his family and friends, exaggerating neither faults nor virtues. Perhaps Ms. Gornick never found Ali Mahmoud, but she did find herself. While the description of the whole process can get a bit gossipy at times, in the end the book is deeply worthwhile as that rare kind of book in which the author openly reveals her own mistakes, flaws, and anger along with the portraits of the others, the foreign "subjects", thus making herself part of the story rather than just an "unseen observer"--detached and uninvolved. Though the title resembles many others--books by Americans who wandered here and there around the world--few, if any, are so shatteringly honest about what happened to them in the societies they visited. This person really was IN Egypt, not just getting her photo taken riding a camel by the pyramids. Certain stylistic tendencies may rub you the wrong way, but you can't fail to be fascinated by her experience.

[Umar Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3 based on the craft of Vivian Gornick who is an outstanding writer and storyteller. If not for the craft this is a 1 given the absurdity of attempting to understand Egypt by spending time with the upper-class family of a boyfriend whose economic and cultural situation represented a tiny fraction of Egyptian society. This is part of a long tradition of white westerners, usually women, although not always, seeking rebellion, adventure, or political clout via their sex lives. Millions of women sleep with Arab men daily and none know them better than Arab women who also could make better observations on Egyptian society. I get that in the early 1970's there weren't a lot of Arab women pitching stories to American publishers, but reading this book in 2022 it really hasn't aged well.

[Cynthia]

I loved this book and have never forgotten it. It was lent to me by a CBS News producer named Joan Snyder who just about ordered me to read it. I've always been grateful.

[Rock Angel]

Jewish American woman from Cambridge, Mass went to Cairo in 1971 to live with an Arab (upper class) family.


Availability: 1 copy in SJ, prob need to buy $24