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Leaving Egypt
This multi-generational novel tells the story of Sarah, her daughter Marcelle and her grand-daughter Lauren, a Middle-Eastern Jewish family moving from Aleppo to Cairo to New York, amongst the upheaval in the aftermath of Egypt's revolution in 1952. Through each move and resettlement they struggle with the legacy of their family and their culture, while also trying to find their own identities as women. As the women attempt to set down roots in unfamiliar places, they find their lives irrevocably shaped by politics and other events beyond their control.
Leaving Egypt describes the complex negotiations that immigrants face wherever they go, while also exploring the powerful intricacies of the bonds between mothers and daughters.
Leaving Egypt describes the complex negotiations that immigrants face wherever they go, while also exploring the powerful intricacies of the bonds between mothers and daughters.
347 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 20, 2016
7 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 14, 2018
Couldn’t put it down! I loved the exploration of the way we are shaped by grief and loss, and how we learn to love again despite that. The characters are fully realized, unapologetically flawed, and pushed to find what they’re made of through both personal and political conflicts. Not enough books explore the mother-daughter relationship, and this one does so beautifully. I loved reading about the conflicts and resolutions, and the way that ancestral issues pass down from mother to daughter, the way that each character so easily achieves what the one before her desired but desires something else.
I also loved the sense of history and place, the descriptions of Old Aleppo and 1950s Cairo, and the personal accounts of how political events wreak havoc on the lives of those living through them.
Highly recommend!
I also loved the sense of history and place, the descriptions of Old Aleppo and 1950s Cairo, and the personal accounts of how political events wreak havoc on the lives of those living through them.
Highly recommend!
April 20, 2017
A fascinating and engaging read!
April 20, 2017
* Five Star *
I absolutely loved this book.
The way the mother- daughter relationship was explored made me cry on more than one occasion. Sadok beautifully depicted the love shared between parent and child , and I cannot wait to see what else this author has in store. I definitely recommend this book, you won't be disappointed!
I absolutely loved this book.
The way the mother- daughter relationship was explored made me cry on more than one occasion. Sadok beautifully depicted the love shared between parent and child , and I cannot wait to see what else this author has in store. I definitely recommend this book, you won't be disappointed!
May 17, 2017
A captivating multi-generational novel that tells the tale of a family over more than half a century: the challenges they faced, the way they handled them, and how it all shaped them, both as individuals and as a family. As someone born into a family with a similar background story, I identified strongly with the book—and found it unique, authentic, and thought-provoking. Although I read this engaging novel in just two quick sittings, the story stayed with me for much longer, and did more than just entertain. The subject matter and writing style make this accessible to a diverse range of ages, backgrounds, and interests, and I truly recommend it to all. I look forward to reading more from this author!
March 18, 2018
A beautiful story of three generations of a family that immigrated from Egypt. A story anyone can relate to but characters that bring this Sephardic family to life. Like Dalia Sofer and Nathan Englander, Sadok brings you into the world of a family that must move and transform. Her details are rich and jewel toned and I grew to love her characters. It leaves you thinking about how many of us live our lives to honor those before us, balancing modern life and family tradition, holding some of it close to us while shedding what we must in order to move on.
December 22, 2016
A nuanced and skillfully written book about the interplay of gender, family and identity within the context of a strong religious and cultural history. This book is all the more relevant now in light of the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, Syria. The saying "may you live in interesting times" certainly applies to characters in this book as it does to everyone at this peculiar and disconcerting moment in U.S. history.
March 17, 2018
I identify with a lot of themes in this book and I like that I was focused only on the women's journeys. My biggest complain was the ending a little anticlimactic to say the least, however I understand It would have been a tremendously long book. All three women are compelling strong characters supported by sufficiently well developed secondary characters specially the husbands. I loved this women and identify with their struggles. It would also make a great TV show.
June 11, 2023
An enjoyable multi-generational family saga about Egyptian (and Syrian) Jewish community in New York. It's told from the POV of grandmother, mother and granddaughter so it's very much about what it means to be a woman in the conservative and close-knit community and the strong yet fragile mother-daughter relationship. Even if the story starts in Egypt with a little trip to Aleppo, Syria, most of the book is set in Brooklyn, New York. It actually has one of the best accounts of what it was like to be in New York on 9/11 I have encountered in literature so far. It also talks about the PSTD many of New Yorkers experienced after it.
I generally like these types of multi-generational family stories especially if they are based on or at least inspired from the author's own family history. I didn't know much about Mizrahi Jews, or Arab Jews, or Middle Eastern Jews. Israel is in the Middle East, but the majority there is comprised of Ashkenazi or European Jews. It was really interesting to learn more about this community.
I substract one star for what felt for me not so smooth generational transition - I had sometimes difficulty reconciling, for example, the young Sarah with mother and grandmother Sarah, but maybe that was the point because she was different on the outside. Anyways, I didn't feel that the personalities remained constant over time. The other thing was that there are still some typos in the e-book: not disturbingly many but still there were a few.
I generally like these types of multi-generational family stories especially if they are based on or at least inspired from the author's own family history. I didn't know much about Mizrahi Jews, or Arab Jews, or Middle Eastern Jews. Israel is in the Middle East, but the majority there is comprised of Ashkenazi or European Jews. It was really interesting to learn more about this community.
I substract one star for what felt for me not so smooth generational transition - I had sometimes difficulty reconciling, for example, the young Sarah with mother and grandmother Sarah, but maybe that was the point because she was different on the outside. Anyways, I didn't feel that the personalities remained constant over time. The other thing was that there are still some typos in the e-book: not disturbingly many but still there were a few.
August 27, 2018
One of the best books I’ve read in a long time.
February 14, 2023
Everyone in our book club enjoyed reading it. It would also make a great TV show or a movie.
April 12, 2021
I didn't expect to love it, just due to the nature of the story...but I absolutely adore it! We read it in my book club and it was one of my favourite books we've read there.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews