“I Think of You” by Ahdaf Soueif (Egypt)

Review

Readers were delighted with this collection of short stories which they really enjoyed reading. They loved the language and the style of writing that gave a clear voice to each of the narrators bringing them vividly alive. They liked the descriptions of the situations the characters find themselves in and the author’s use of minor details to create a pervasive atmosphere in every scene. Readers appreciated the contrast of cultures in all their diversity and liked the author’s use of humour and insightfulness to evoke the difficulties faced in cross-cultural relationships. They felt an underlying sadness in most of the stories though at the same time great hope that the characters would not only survive, but flourish. Overall, they found the stories full of emotion and wonderfully rich. Some of the favourites were: “Knowing”, “Sandpiper”, “1964” and “I Think of You”.

The book averaged an 8.7 out of 10.

Synopsis

In these selected stories from her collections “Aisha” and “Sandpiper,” Ahdaf Soueif writes about love and displacement in prose that is delicately nuanced and acutely observed. These are achingly lyrical stories, resonant and richly woven… Read more

Season 11 – “Short Stories” (Feb – Jun 2010)

“Last Evenings on Earth” by Roberto Bolano (Chile)
“I Think of You” by Ahdaf Soueif (Egypt)
“Fascination” by William Boyd (U.K.)
“Runaway” by Alice Munro (Canada)
“Sightseeing” by Rattawut Lapcharoensap (Thailand) *

Extra book:
“An Elegy for Easterly” by Petina Gappah (Zimbabwe)

* The book club favourite
In italics, Nicola’s Coup de Cœur