This is a Montreal Egyptian’s debut novel. I had trouble discerning whether or not it is in part autobiographical as it is written largely in the second person singular about a disgraced and alienated Egyptian doctor who moved to Montreal eschewing any contact with his wife and family. The faked death and then the real death years later in 2001 of the married man’s clandestine male prostitute lover and partime medical assistant haunts the whole story, but unlike many novels featuring gays, the sex is described discreetly and the emphasis is on the deep enduring love between them. A final emotional meeting of the narrator with his disgraced father provides the implied denouement.
The writing is insightful and careful. e.g. «Diction had pride of place. She never spoke of chance preferring the word fate…. The nuance was important. Not being on the side of losers, Meme had found that in fate she had a trusted ally to be certain of always landing on the winning side. Fate justified trials and tribulations and stamped the winners with the impress of divine intervention; chance reduced defeat to poor planning and victory to dumb luck. »
The LGBT community will love this novel but it also an intereating read for straight people like me.
3.5/5
The Passionate Reader 