- Mass Market Paperback: 1 pages
- Publisher: Riverhead (TRD); Lst Riverhead ed edition (Mar 21 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1573225347
- ISBN-13: 978-1573225342
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 13 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 295 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #679,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
When Aciman, born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, was asked his nationality as a boy, he automatically replied, "French." His confusion was understandable; his family were Sephardic Jews who had wandered from Italy to Turkey, then settled in Egypt. His father owned a woolen mill and his parents were very rich, as were the rest of the exotic clan who lived with them or gathered regularly for elegant, memorable teas, fetes and fierce but transient squabbling. Like Russian nobility of old, they disdained the common language. Few of them learned Arabic but preferred French, English, Ladino or Italian. They concealed their Jewishness when Nasser was in power, a time of high Arab nationalism, intense anti-Semitism and then war. Eventually they fled to Paris, leaving behind much of their wealth but little of their culture, which Aciman-his mother's darling, his teachers' despair, his father's worry, a child spy in a house of eccentric, cultivated adults-here recalls with a magical sensibility streaked with antic humor. A marvelous memento of a place, time and people that have all disappeared.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Aciman presents a rich and captivating portrait of a Jewish family from cosmopolitan Alexandria, Egypt. From their arrival there at the turn of the century until their departure three generations later, the members of Aciman's clan experienced adventures and harrowing disappointments. Their stories are in many ways similar to those of other Jewish families in vanishing communities throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Most impressive among the siblings is Uncle Villy, who led a colorful life as a British spy, Italian fascist, and soldier. Aunt Flora, a refugee from Germany, maintains a rather pessimistic philosophy about life. With this memoir, the author in part redeems the social life, customs, and history of a community that barely exists today amid an inhospitable milieu, due to political turmoil in close and remote lands. This is not simply another nostalgic account but a well-written and touching depiction of life in a community that has almost ceased to be. Highly recommended for most collections.
Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A charming family chronicle,
By Jay Dickson (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Out Of Egypt A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
Aciman's memoir of his multiethnic, multiglossic family in Alexandria starts out a bit confusingly: he purposefully (and perversely) hides just how certain characters are related to one another, and to himself, in the opening sections, which makes things a bit confusing. But once he enters as a character himself in the book, things straighten out and the reader can immerse himself or herself in the sights and sounds of mid-century Alexandria. The characters (mostly his family members and servants) are charmingly original, and really come to live. Oddly, though it takes his introduction into the narrative for the memoir to straighten itself out, Aciman's own character is kept occulted in this memoir, and most of what we see him do is misbehave. Aciman clearly and wisely learned from Proust (his admitted model) never to sentimentalize himself--a mistake other memoirists often commit.
5.0 out of 5 stars
speak, memory,
By A Customer
This review is from: Out Of Egypt A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
A really absorbing memoir, reminiscent in some ways of Nabokov's "Speak, Memory". Neither sentimental nor self indulgent, clear-eyed, humorous, yet moving and truly interesting. Having lived in Egypt myself around the same time (albeit in Cairo, not Alexandria), I was touched by recognition of places and types: a world "gone with the wind". That is of course very personal, but I believe this book should appeal to any one with a little curiosity about other places, people, times.
5.0 out of 5 stars
out of egypt,
By robert colannino (cambridge ma. usa) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Out Of Egypt A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
Andre Aciman has written a brillant portrait of a doomed and now vanished world .This memoir is filled with melancholy, energy, feeling and true wit.His style is simple, silken and elegant. The truely amazing thing about the book and the reason I could not put it down were the characters.Rich, vivid ,full fleshed very much like Dickens.Very funny very moving . Buy this book now.
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