The View From Garden City: A Novel (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
The View from Garden City, by Carolyn Baugh weaves the experience of an American student in Cairo with the stories of the women she meets in her building. The American girl serves as a transition between the Egyptian women’s stories, but I felt that her character wasn’t very well developed. Frankly, she wasn’t of any interest. Each chapter focusing on a different woman revealed patriarchal parts of the culture, but also the resilience and strength of the women. Overall, a so-so book in that it was predictable, but a decent rainy day read. Sort of like The Yacoubian building but focuses entirely on females and their lives. My fav line: Writing damns you to observing not being. This author has the uncanny ability to describe things really uniquely/accurately so I appreciated her writing style and content of the book (not so much the structure though). She didn't shy away from the conflicts and bittersweet relationships these Egyptian women go through. The stories show real life issues like domestic violence, an extramarital affair, disappointed love and unfulfilled expectations of a partner, etc. The personal stories span generations of women and are told to a woman studying abroad at AUC (I really miss that place!). That's basically the only connection these stories have to each other, the fact that it's being heard by a complete outsider.
What do You think about The View From Garden City: A Novel (2008)?
Stories about the lives of a group of women in Egypt. I found it engrossing.
—RAJA
... a wonderful story of the intimate lives of Egyptian women
—Moye777
There are some beautiful and painful moments in this story.
—Alondra
