Friendly Fire: Stories [Paperback]

Alaa Al Aswany (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2009

Alaa Al Aswany has won resounding critical acclaim for his deft and moving portrayals of the lives of contemporary Egyptians who constantly examine their relationship with Egypt's history, religion, class, and gender distinctions. In Friendly Fire he once again demonstrates an extraordinary empathy for lost and searching souls as he focuses on the exquisite emotions of everyday life.

In "The Kitchen Boy" and "Dearest Sister Makarim," Al Aswany explores the hypocrisy of the class divide. The brief and tender "Izzat Amin Iskandar" is a heartrending view of youthful hope. And in the unforgettable novella "The Isam Abd el-Ati Papers," the narrator carries us along a troubling journey through his painful relationships with his artist father and his self-centered mother, en route to a devastating collision of temptation and morality.

Here are stories of generational conflict, love, repression, and the clash of Western and Arab ideals, all beautifully rendered by a true modern master.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his deft new collection, the ever-controversial Al Aswany (The Yacoubian Building) again delves into the various miseries of modern Egyptian life. In the long story The Isam Abd el-Ati Papers, the title character rants against Egypt and its citizens with irresistible venom. Isam's hobbies include denouncing the stupid tribal loyalty of his compatriots, humiliating his defeated cartoon-drawing father, sleeping with his mother's maid and infuriating his co-workers by blatantly sipping coffee during Ramadan. But when Isam meets the enchanting German, Jutta, it appears that he may have found just the Western woman to ease his existential pain. In the powerful A Look into Nagi's Face, Nagi, a half-French student, becomes a sadistic teacher's favorite, upsetting the classroom's balance of power. Domestic violence in a bourgeois Egyptian household gets out of hand in When the Glass Shatters; Dearest Sister Makarim mocks the formalities and traditions that hinder real communication between the sexes in modern Muslim culture. Acerbic critique of Egyptian culture is what weaves these stories into a coherent collection. The author systematically unveils his country's most revered institutions, from hospitals and schools to religion and marriage. (Sept.)
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Review

“At times al-Aswany’s stories are heartbreaking, at times they are uncomfortable, at times hilarious, but no matter what the mood, his work is always steeped in the greywater of humanity.” (Virginia Quarterly Review )

“A startling first collection, elegant yet pointedly sharp-tongued and sarcastic…. Al Aswany is an insightful student of the human condition whose trenchant characters evoke a weird hybrid of Albert Camus and Charles Bukowski; the strange landscape depicted is at once painful and playful, rich in meaning and understatement.” (Library Journal )

“Al Aswany masterfully deciphers the forces behind social polarization over class, gender, race, religion, and politics, tracking the pendulum swings from sympathy to hate, dream to despair, sorrow to resignation, and refusing simple answers and tidy conclusions.” (Booklist )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (September 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061766631
• ISBN-13: 978-0061766633
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #911,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Literature of Egypt, October 11, 2009

By 

wogan "the book reader" - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Friendly Fire: Stories (Paperback)

Alaa Al Aswany writes of contemporary Egypt, the Egypt he sees and interprets. He explains in his very thorough and worthy of note preface; that there is a usual similarity between the audiences of the first moving pictures who were terrified because they believed the train coming toward them was real and the people who believe the literature they read is real; that one should not interpret his writing as a hatred of Egypt.
He explains the history of the book, mainly his first story - 'The Isam Abd el-Ati Papers' and why it was not published at his first try. His 219 page book, Friendly Fire consists of short stories, the first 92 pages long, the other 16 much shorter. He is a good writer, but one can see why the Egyptian authorities would not publish his writing; it expresses no virtue of the country or its' people - one has to remind themselves of his admonishing in the preface that he loves his country and his literature possesses an independent existence from his thinking.
So, in summary be prepared for a book with stories that rail on the subject of human kind, not the worst of society but the everyday foibles and failings of the inhabitants of modern Egypt, but they could exist anywhere -the teasing of schoolmates, the difficulties and obstacles of achieving one's life dreams.
Each story is a tale of woe and wretched luck. Each story leaves much of what will finally happen to your imagination, much as life is. This is not just about Egypt but the state of anger and frustration in humankind - well written but frustrating to me in that there seemed to be no optimism or closure. So read if you are interested a different style and a critically acclaimed contemporary Egyptian writer.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Penetrating and thought provoking, December 16, 2009

By 

Benjamin (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Friendly Fire: Stories (Paperback)

Having read and enjoyed Alla Al Aswany's The Yacoubian Building I did not hesitate when I saw this title. The novella He Who Drew Close and Saw, which occupies just over half the book, is an account narrated by Isam, a young Egyptian who clearly has a very low opinion of his countrymen. He briefly takes us through his childhood and to his working career, and along the way describes his relationships with his family, work colleagues and friends. Initially one is inclined to have less than positive thoughts about Isam, for he appears arrogant and selfish, yet there is something about him that wins the reader to his side; it is not until the neat twist at the end that we realise what that strange allure is.

The remainder of the book comprises nine short stories, all of which are centred on Egypt. Several revolve around children and the typical problems of growing up, including a bullying schoolteacher, the victimisation of an overweight boy, the bright new boy who everyone wants to befriend, and the triumph against adversity. Other stories tell of the trials of a bright young medical student who despite his brilliance seems unable to win approval, a political activist who has a vision, and an absentee son trying to justify his failure to support his ageing mother. What unites all these stories is their commentary on human nature, and often the Egyptian way of life. Al Aswany's penetrating perception and frank depiction of Egyptian culture is always tinged with wry humour and peopled with appealing characters. But whatever the story, and however short or even unresolved, one always is left with a thought provoking point to ponder.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read., November 18, 2010

By 

Karla Moore (OAK GROVE, MO, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Friendly Fire: Stories (Paperback)

It's a good book with several short stories. Not as good as Chicago or The Yacobian Building, but still good.