Only in London

Rating:
Summary: Overrated
Review: As a woman writer from the Arab world who openly explores such taboo subjects as women's sexuality and gay/lesbian relationships, Hanan al-Shaykh has become something of a darling among the cultural left. Intrigued by an interview with al-Shaykh that aired last spring on CBC Radio (Canada) as part of a series about writers from the Islamic world -- and seduced by the delightful cover art (a personal weakness) -- I put my money down eagerly as soon as the paperback edition of "Only in London" became available.

This novel promises to show us the "other" London as it is seen through the eyes of its Arab immigrants. What the four main characters see and experience there, however, could take place not "only in London" but in any other large European or North American city with a large immigrant population. London is nowhere to be found in this novel and perhaps its Arab characters -- and al-Shaykh herself? -- are such outsiders that this becomes the point. Lamis, the Iraqi divorcee sees the city from the inside of her own flat and that of her lover's and makes only minor excursions outside to obvious London landmarks and institutions. Amira, the Moroccan prostitute, familiarizes herself only with the haunts of her wealthy Arab clients. Samir, the frustrated homosexual, never ventures far beyond the Middle Eastern shops and restaurants at the heart of London's Arab community.

Nicholas, the one English character in the novel, is a true enigma. A specialist in Islamic art who works for Sothebys, he appears to be interested in Lamis as just one more acquisition from the Oriental world that intrigues him. But on the flip side of the same coin, Nicholas himself fears that his lover is only interested in him for what he represents: the "typical Englishman". Unfortunately, al-Shaykh does not explore the intriguing possibilities of this mutual misunderstanding. Rather, she ends the novel rather abruptly with its identification.

While I found this novel generally disappointing, I found it to be particularly so in its perpetuation of stereotypes, both Arab and English. The Arab characters are obsessed with either money or sex (or both) and the English (represented by Nicholas) are placed on a pedestal where they remain distinctly "other".

To give Al-Shaykh her due, there are a few lovely moments in the novel, as when Lamis's father sends a tape recording of his childhood memories of the Marshes in the south of Iraq and of being a musician in the holy city of Najaf where music was forbidden. The most successful moment in the novel occurs when Amira, bereft of her best friend who has died of cancer, visits a mosque -- but not, as one might expect amid so many stereotypes, to repent.

If you're undecided, I would recommend spending your time and money elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: I was disapointed
Review: I was expecting the author to bring more light into the London's other side. She was just decribing the life of a certain category of immigrants that could happen in any part of the world...
I would have liked for her to go deeper in her description of the characters. Sometimes she just touched the surface, they had more to say and share with us, but Hanane did not give them the opportunity.

Rating:
Summary: I was disapointed
Review: I was expecting the author to bring more light into the London's other side. She was just decribing the life of a certain category of immigrants that could happen in any part of the world...
I would have liked for her to go deeper in her description of the characters. Sometimes she just touched the surface, they had more to say and share with us, but Hanane did not give them the opportunity.

Rating:
Summary: A Comic Exploration of Exile
Review: I'm stunned more people haven't commented on this book...

Through the lives of four passengers returning to London from the Arab world, Lebanese author al-Shaykh displays a deep concern with issues of exile, memory, language,freedom, desire, and ultimately identity. Each of the three main Arab characters have spent most of their lives playing roles. Lamis, a newly divorced 30-year old Iraqi, is returning to London where she's lived for twelve years in to pick up the pieces of her life after briefly fleeing to Dubai after her divorce. Having thrown off her stifling life as a young trophy wife to a wealthy older man, she's unsure how to maintain her role as mother and what to do with her life.

Amira is a high-end Moroccan prostitute who is coming to the realization that her looks won't last forever. She embarks on a comic and cunning scheme to pose as a princess in a royal family in order to con wealthy Arab men out of large sums of cash. She helps monkey-smuggling newcomer Samir navigate Arab London. He's a Lebanese man who has concealed his homosexuality for years by marrying and fathering five children. Released in liberated London, his flamboyant and cross-dressing nature comes bubbling up to great comic effect. The final piece of the puzzle is Nicholas, a British employee of Sotheby's, who is also an antiquities consultant for an Omani prince.

The lives of the foursome intertwine, with Lamis and Nicholas falling in love. Their relationship forms the nominal core of the book, and while Lamis' inner turmoil and fears, social awkwardness, and cross-cultural problems come across pitch perfect, Nicholas remains a bit of an enigma, and is the most unsatisfying of the characters. At the same time, Samir moves in with Amira to become her majordomo while pursuing young men. As their tales play out, one gets a real sense of the difficulties of faced by exiles-although it must be noted that no one in this book lacks for money. Indeed, while one gets a sense of what the lives of London's Arab elite is like, it's a totally different world from that of the average immigrant or refugee. Still, it's a refreshing view of Arabs (sprinkled liberally with comic scenes and moments) unlikely to be familiar to most Westerners. The writing is easy and natural, with none of the stiltedness that often emerges in translations, kudos to translator Catherine Cobham.