Only In London - Softcover

Al-Shaykh, Hanan

2.84

609 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1408801922 ISBN 13: 9781408801925

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2009

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From the Back Cover:

"Only in London is many things, all remarkably good. It's funny, poignant, insightful,
audacious, charming and downright carnal at times. A splendid book, this one,
graceful from start to end, with interlocking stories that corner you on the first page
and never let up. A big bow to Hanan al-Shaykh." --Martin Clark, author of The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living

“A fascinating, picaresque tale told with humor and compassion, and with even the minor characters sharply drawn. . . . Perceptive, funny, erotic, gentle.” —The Independent(UK)

"Love scenes in novels are normally so conventionalised that it's a shock to read one as rich in discovery,
misunderstanding and disappointment as the first encounter between Lamis, the heroine of Hanan Al-Shaykh's
magnificent new novel, and the Englishman whom she met when he picked up the passport she had
dropped on the plane to London . . . offers an exquisite perspective of estrangement and recognition." --The Observer (UK)

"For all its deceptive lightness of touch, the novel teems with ideas: memory and exile, language, desire and
identity, and the search for order in the chaos of a metropolis. It is also very funny. Readers familiar with
Shayk's work will remember her as a writer who has charted, in her novels, the interiors of Arab women's
lives, from tragedy to tentative triumph. They will probably be astonished by her unexpected comic gift.
London, however, as fans who have seen her two plays will know, allows Shaykh to exercise her trenchant,
at times ribald, wit." --Literary Review (UK)
"As the story follows their adventures, some comic, some pathetic, each character finds a different London . . .
The author now lives in London and has acquired a sensitive understanding of the half-and-half world she
describes. Her novel is funny and beautifully written. She has a perfect ear for dialogue and tone." --Sunday Telegraph (UK)

From the Inside Flap:

From one of the most highly regarded contemporary Arab writers, a wonderfully comic and touching novel about four people seeking love and liberty in London?s burgeoning Arab community

On a flight from Dubai to London a sudden turbulence throws together four people from different corners of the Arab world: beautiful, lost Lamis, recently divorced from her wealthy Iraqi husband; Nicholas, a Sotheby?s expert on Islamic daggers; Amira, a bossy Moroccan prostitute; and Samir, who is worried about the monkey he has hidden in a basket under his seat. As they settle into London, their lives continue to intertwine: Samir moves in with Amira but spends his time dreaming of blond boys; Amira masquerades as an Arab princess to entice clients at the Dorchester Hotel; and Nicholas and Lamis begin a passionate affair.

Their stories are funny, tender, and sexy; rich with observations about exile and return, love and language, art and identity. Through them Hanan al-Shaykh captures a unique and vital London, a place where Arab and Western cultures both collide head-on and blend together in wonderfully engaging ways.

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