Novel set mainly in ALEXANDRIA (second half 20th Century)

1st April 2021

The Girls from Alexandria by Carol Cooper, novel set mainly in Alexandria.

Nadia is in her seventies and is currently in a London hospital, recovering from a procedure. She is struggling to find her balance, has headaches, fights to remember things and it seems that she is in the EMI (Elderly Mentally Infirm) phase of her life. She flutters at memories of the childhood she had with her older sister Simone back in the 1950s/60s in Alexandria and of Simone’s subsequent disappearance – she didn’t quite disappear off the face of the earth and sent cryptic postcards from various places. However, there were never sufficient clues for the two sisters to reunite. Nadia is now intent on finding her so they can try and make up for the last 50 lost years. Perhaps she can re-examine the postcards and glean some clues; she is now a woman on a mission! However, no-one really takes her quest seriously, there is a sense that this is all part of her delusional psyche.

Much of the book is set in Alexandria and the author paints an almost sepia image of the era. The girls are with their parents in Egypt, in Alexandria (far superior to Cairo!) and charts their development into adulthood. The family came to Egypt from Syria but felt they could never really fully integrate. They straddle Arabic and French and there are many words from both languages scattered throughout the narrative; they certainly add to the authenticity. The parts set in Alexandria offer a very colourful and hot sense of the country.

Carefree days at the beach are balanced with day to day life at home with their domestic staff. There are social get-togethers with their parents’ friends and the odd and mis-judged encounter with consequences. A fraught relationship builds between Simone and her father, and once she is old enough to leave, she does so. It is assumed that the strife has driven her away.

Nadia goes on to marry Fouad and although her husband is a gynaecologist, he never really gets to the bottom of her multiple miscarriages. They end up in England because of his work.

There is a good medical perspective because the author has trained and worked as a doctor.

There are many timelines which give the storyline a dynamic feel. At times it hopped around a little too much – perhaps half a page dedicated to NOW and then swiftly back to 1952/53 and 1961 and more, but this manner of storytelling reflects the fractured nature of memory: the butterfly narrative mirrors Nadia’s difficulty in placing and ordering her memories and making sense of the past. Very readable. And just look at the beautiful book cover!!!

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