Rating: 
Summary: Anna's journals keep this alive...
Review: Beginning with Fatima Mernissi, my favorite Muslim feminist, I love reading about the lives of women that are so different from mine - and usually, are more intense and more meaningful. Although a good friend who'd lived in Egypt said she had to force herself to get through some parts - I found this story to be gripping enough to hold me. Certainly the best parts are those from the diary and letters of the turn-of-the-century Englishwoman named Anna Winterbourne. After her young husband dies, Anna travels to Egypt, loves how different it is from her world, and eventually pulls away from the stuffy, closed-minded colonial community and falls in love with an older Egyptian nationalist (Sharif). Fast forward 95 years and find Isabel Parkman in New York City routing through her dying mother's things and finding a trunk full of what turn out to be Anna's documents. Because some of the documents are in Arabic she asks a man she is seeing, Omar (an unlikely international conductor) for assistance and he sends her to Cairo to his sister Amal. We learn soon enough that Isabel and Amal are cousins and the two of them begin to uncover the wonders of their ancestor's journal (and letters). Based in Egypt during unsettled times (both in the late 1890s and in the late 1990s) issues of nationalism and culture clashes are mirrored in both story lines. Soueif is much more powerful in her Egyptian characters and history and the relationship between Anna and Sharif is a pleasure to read. Sections of the book devoted to Isabel and her "issues" are considerably less enjoyable - but get through these because as the whole the book is a delightful family saga.
Rating: 
Summary: Love, politics and religion
Review: A fascinating multi-layered novel that cuts between present-day and turn of the Twentieth Century Egypt, The Map of Love is immaculately written, has memorable characters, and mixes love, politics and religion in a disciplined but expansive mixture. One is left with a strong sense of the injustices that have been and continue to be inflicted on one of the oldest and most beautiful civilisations, yet despite everything how Egypt survives through it all, while its neighbours, in particular Palestine, are sacrificed to political expediency. Yet this is also a very personal novel about the feelings and fortunes of women. I have rarely read better, more vivid and more passionate descriptions of the experience of love - an emotion that seems all too often relegated to popular romances while being dismissed entirely by the cynical post-modern literati. The portrayal of intimate feelings are aided by writing that is both clear and sensuous. So why not five stars? Well, The Map of Love is far superior to many books that I could give the highest of these silly ratings too - it is just that the setting and subjects seem to be pandering a little too much to the western taste for eastern exoticism, the Merchant-Ivory tendency for period romances amongst the upper classes, and also, incidentally, with half an eye on a film deal. There is certainly some self-awareness of the pitfalls of this approach shown in the text, but I feel that the author is capable of far more complex and honest writing than this, despite the vivid style, political awareness and emotional understanding of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Dull love story
Review: Dull, dull, dull... The author tries too hard but the characters are simply too perfect to be interesting. Anna and her saintly devotion to her husband did not appeal to me at all. The present day story is more engaging but the politics and the heavy use of Arabic make it difficult to follow. A slow, difficult read which I wouldn't recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: I would only change the title
Review: If someone selected this work based on the title, they may well be disappointed, or alternatively, they may overlook a great work which delves into the history of Egypt, in particular Egypt's relationship with the English over the last hundred years, in the context of a beautiful, cross-cultural, cross-generational, love affair....the main character, Anna, is undoubtedly exceptional, however, I am certain that a tiny handful of English women of her time had the same open-minded attitude to the Egyptians. Never is it suggested that Anna had an easy ride as a result of the choice she made to marry an Egyptian. She remained an outsider to the English and the Egyptians, to a very large extent, hence her need to write these fascinating diaries and letters.The risk of this Anglo-Egyptian liaison is very high for Anna and her husband. She is rejected by most of her English counterparts in Egypt and the price her husband ultimately pays, possibly as a result of his liaison with her, is irreversible. Despite the fact that this is fiction, I would still say that fortunately individuals such as Anna did what little they could to try to educate others in England on what being Egyptian actually meant.First-hand experience is perhaps the best way to achieve profound, cultural understanding, and only when fully immersed in a foreign world can people begin to comprehend the value of cultural integration. The English in England who had not seen or lived what the Egyptians were battling with at the turn of the century could not begin to understand what was important to Egypt, and yet they were controlling the country. Soueif, born in Cairo and educated in Egypt and England, is in a perfect position to paint both the English and the Egyptian picture, and she does so from the most open-minded, factually-based perspective we could dream of. Her vision, her writing skill and her knowledge are what we need to move forward in society as a whole.
Rating: 
Summary: dense history with trite love story
Review: I can't understand why this book was short-listed for the Booker prize - except perhaps due to British guilt over their colonial policy in Egypt. I found the book to be a dense (and one-sided) treatise about Egyptian history and Arab nationalism more generally. The love stories between both sets of couples are underdeveloped and seem to be merely excuses to attach the pages of historical material. Her treatment of Anna is particularly one-dimensional and lacking and presents a far too romantic and celebratory view of Egyptian treatment of women -- it's too hard to believe that an English women would so easily fit into Egyptian culture and so readily accept things like the veil, the almost absolute separation of men and women, or the lack of education for women without feeling any disjuncture. This is especially difficult for the reader given that Soudeif expects us to believe that Anna is so intellectually sensitive that she can see beyond her English upbringing and completely understand and embrace the Egyptian perspective. But there is very little room in this book for any negativity about Egypt or the Arab world (excepting a section on contemporary Egyptian treatment of the fellhadeen, but that only serves to make the heroine of the book seem more enlightened and sympathetic). There are a few layers of subplots which are often confusing and the author leaves most of them thin and unresolved. In sum, I wasted too much time trying to slog through this unrewarding and irritating book.
Rating:
Summary: Finding buried treasure...
Review: Having recently read Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy, MAP OF LOVE was the perfect choice in my desire to learn more about the Middle East. Although the love story parallels one enacted 100 years earlier, Soueif masterfully integrates her characters and storyline. In the course of following a beautiful love story between two unlikely lovers, the reader is offered an historical perspective that has seldom been available to Westerners. Her feet firmly planted in the Egypt of today, the author paints the background in rich and fascinating colors. Indeed, the pull of the past is stronger than present-day reality, as the extraordinary Anna allows herself to follow the dictates of her heart. Anna"s capacity for compassion is stunning, seductive in its simplicity. Even her granddaughter's parallel love story pales in comparison. Against this dramatic background, Soueif delivers a much-needed history lesson. Rather than widening the chasm, this writer gives her readers the opportunity for increased awareness. A culture that appears so rigid and formalized becomes a way of life defined by love of country with passionate ties to family. There is much to learn from this culture, and the doors of perception are thrown wide open by this talented writer.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful journey through time in Egypt
Review: It is very fortunate that foreign writers get increasingly attention. Mahfouz opened Egypt and, through her short-listing for the Booker Prize, Mrs.Soueif got world wide recognition as a secon writer from that wonderful country.. The Map of Love shows why. It is a wonderful novel combining two love stories, one contemporary and one in the past, with the struggle of Egypt for independence. The writing is so good and insightful that you can start to have a very vivid imagination of Anna, the main protagonist. Her gradual distancing from England and her increasing love for her new country is superbly drawn. The style of the novel, mixing a current generation and her forebears allows a deep reflection on times gone by. It is in a way very sad to see that ninety years of struggle for independence, progress and development have basically come to naught as the same problems seem to appear over and over again. Like Mahfouz, Mrs Soueif is always gentle, never judging fortright but in the end no less clear about her view on current Egypt. A book to be read and to be remembered for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: bridge across nations and generations
Review: Ahdaf Soueif presents two tales to provide a bridge across nations and generations. Amal receives a trunk from Isabel a love interest of Amal's brother Omar who resides in New York. She becomes immersed in uncovering the story of Anna an English woman of the early twentieth century which is found in journals in the trunk, one side of which Amal is already familiar with. While making her discoveries in the trunk Amal finds the ties that bound her great uncle are again entrapping her brother. The map of love is a continuing tapestry of life. Soueif is a gifted writer and presents a compelling tale in a lyrical and poetic manner. She invites the reader into the life stories of Anna and Sharif. It is a story that cannot be happily ever after, but is mesmerizing. Amal is an intriguing character whose complete story is hidden behind the tapestry of Anna and Sharif and Isabel and Omar. Anna also is an interesting character. A young woman haunted by the death of her husband who she feels she didn't love enough. Anna travels to Egypt to seek redemption and solace. This book can be difficult in the sense that the reader is given much one sided information about the development of Egypt in the twentieth century. It is hard to put into context and does not necessarily help in the telling of the story. However it is a story about politics and nations and how they effect are lives and who we love and the effort it takes to rise above these walls. This is a book for anyone who appreciates a good love story and is willing to move at the pace of Amal who takes one piece of the map of love out of the trunk at a time.
Rating:
Summary: Magical, in the spirit of Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Review: Ahdaf Soueif has really worked magic here. This novel is extraordinary in its scope. Ignore the publisher's synopsis of this book, as it really does not do the plot justice. The book is split between two time periods--turn of the century England and Egypt--and modern New York City and Egypt. The real strength of this novel is the relationship between Anna and Sharif Pasha Al-Baroudi. Soueif uses this relationship as an opportunity to discuss the different difficulties of inter-cultural relationships, and she also addresses really well the stereotypical fears that the Western world holds of Muslim Arab men. But don't let the presence of serious issues keep you from reading and enjoying this book. Even if you haven't the slightest interest in history or politics, this book has enough beauty and passion to keep you turning the pages. I couldn't stop reading it until I was finished.
Rating:
Summary: Anna and the Basha
Review: This book starts slowly, it's a wonderful read for the summer(the beach) or whenever you have the time to read it right through and to absorb the impact of a very proper English Lady (i.e. aristocrat) of the 19th century embracing an entirely new life and circumstances with the man she falls in love with, an Egyptian, who, being persona non grata with the British colonists, results in the same status being conveyed on her. It's not a romance novel, it's far more serious. It's about love in all its many facets, it's a contrast of life in the nineteenth, versus the late twentieth,century. I recommend it, it challenges conventional notions of life in Egypt, as well as giving background to Middle East politics from the inception of the twentieth century. Anna knew duty, and caring. What she had yearned for was love, and it found her, and alongside she gave, and received, love from her husband's mother (her belle-mere), his sister, and all their family. This book embraces the redeeming quality of love. The parallel contrast with her modern-day relative, Isabel, makes the reader pause and reflect. I read this after an extensive blitz on the Patrica Cornwell/Kay Scarpetta novels, which are addictive. The pace here is slower, the language more evocative and wordy. Let it transport you, Anna and her story will stay with you longer than Dr Scarpetta.
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