The Map of Love
Set in the early 1900s and in the 1990s, The Map of Love tells of two intertwined, cross-cultural love stories. In 1901 Anna Winterbourne leaves England for Egypt, then an outpost of the empire roiling with nationalist sentiment. She finds herself falling in love with both Egypt and Sharif Pasha al-Baroudi. Nearly a century later, American journalist Isabel Parkman, a descendant of Anna and Sharif, falls for Omar, an Egyptian conductor. Filled with conflicting emotions, Isabel travels to Egypt to explore her heritage and meets Omar’s sister Amal. The two women become fast friends, and together they unravel the beautiful story of how Anna and Sharif braved the disapproval of their people in order to make a life together.
At times the author seems to dwell overlong on political discussions, and in some instances the shift from one time period to the other is abrupt. The sensitive political issues of both periods, though, receive a straightforward, balanced treatment under Ms. Soueif’s pen. This compassionately rendered story is peopled with characters with whom the American reader might be unfamiliar, but soon we begin to feel as if we inhabit their minds, experiencing the world as they do. Our understanding of the Arab world and mindset will benefit.
