The Last Watchman of Old Cairo

Posted on 26 January 2017 by Michael David Lukas

In this spellbinding novel, a young man journeys from California to Cairo to unravel centuries old family secrets.Joseph, a literature student at Berkeley, is the son of a Jewish mother and a Muslim father One day, a mysterious package arrives on his doorstep, pulling him into a mesmerizing adventure to uncover the tangled history that binds the two sides of his family For generations, the men of the al Raqb family have served as watchmen of the storied Ibn Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, built at the site where the infant Moses was taken from the Nile Joseph learns of his ancestor Ali, a Muslim orphan who nearly a thousand years earlier was entrusted as the first watchman of the synagogue and became enchanted by its legendary perhaps magical Ezra Scroll The story of Joseph s family is entwined with that of the British twin sisters Agnes and Margaret, who in 1897 depart their hallowed Cambridge halls on a mission to rescue sacred texts that have begun to disappear from the synagogue The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is a moving page turner of a novel from acclaimed storyteller Michael David Lukas This tightly woven multigenerational tale illuminates the tensions that have torn communities apart and the unlikely forces potent magic, forbidden love that boldly attempt to bridge that divide.Praise for The Last Watchman of Old Cairo A beautiful, richly textured novel, ambitious and delicately crafted, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is both a coming of age story and a family history, a wide ranging book about fathers and sons, religion, magic, love, and the essence of storytelling This book is a joy Rabih Alameddine, author of the National Book Award finalist An Unnecessary Woman Download The Last Watchman of Old Cairo – kino-fada.fr Last Watchman of Cairo tells its story via three loosely related threads and timelines In contemporaneous America, the Muslim Egyptian father of Joseph the last watchman referenced in the title has died, and he has had a friend deliver to Joseph a keepsake without explanation Joseph, raised exclusively by his Jewish Egyptian by birth mother in the US, had a cordial relationship with his father, at least until his father learned Joseph is gay They didn t have a falling out, but had comm Last Watchman of Cairo tells its story via three loosely related threads and timelines In contemporaneous America, the Muslim Egyptian father of Joseph the last watchman referenced in the title has died, and he has had a friend deliver to Jos...The Oracle of Stamboul , written by Michael David Lukas published in 2011 his debut.was sooooo wonderful I was speechless to express how much I loved his novel It s still a very special book to me one I read with my daughterwith so many fond memories I remember the story as if I read it yesterday The writing is gorgeous It was a joy to meet Michael years back and hear him talk about his book I learned of this book yesterday thank You Netgalley Random House and Goodread The Oracle of Stamboul , written by Michael David Lukas published in 2011 his debut.was sooooo wonderful I was speechless to express how much I loved his novel It s still a very special book to me one I read with my daughterwith so many fond memories I remember the story as if I read it yesterday The writing is gorgeous It was a joy to meet Michael years back and hear him talk about his book I learned of this book yesterday thank You Netgalley Random House and Goodreads friend Esil and was excited to receive a copy.I spent my day reading The Last Watchman of Cairo What a delight Michael still has that it quality I love.His prose feels effortless while transporting us to a luxurious world of the past I cared about the characters hanging onto the story and feeling their emotions.From the start I was curious about the title There was mystery for me about the word Watchman I knew the...I went into this book with no idea what to expect Although it was a very busy time, actually an insanely hectic time, I managed to read a few pages in between From the blurb Joseph, a literature student at Berkeley, is the son of a Jewish mother and a Muslim father One day, a mysterious package arrives on his doorstep, pulling him into a mesmerizing adventure to uncover the tangled history that binds the two sides of his family For generations, the men of the al Raqb family have served as w I went into this book with no idea what to expect Although it was a very busy time, actually an insanely hectic time, I managed to read a few pages in between From the blurb Joseph, a literature student at Berkeley, is the son of a Jewish mother and a Muslim father One day, a mysterious package arrives on his doorstep, pulling him into a mesmerizing adventure to uncover the tangled history that binds the two sides of his family For generations, the men of the al Raqb family have served as watchmen of the storied Ibn Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, built at the site where the infant Moses was taken from the Nile Joseph learns of his ancestor Ali, a Muslim orphan who nearly a thousand years earlier was entrusted as the first watchman of the synagogue and became enc...RTCThe heart of a father is the masterpiece of natureAntoine Fran ois Pr vostMichael David Lukas, an American bestselling author, has penned a compelling historical fiction called, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo that revolves around an American part Jewish part Muslim student exploring the roots of his father s side family in Cairo where his father s forefathers used to be the watchman of an ancient synagogue, protecting its secrets and faith with their courage and sacrifices The authorThe heart of a father is the masterpiece of natureAntoine Fran ois Pr vostMichael David Lukas, an American bestselling author, has penned a compelling historical fiction called, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo that revolves around an American part Jewish part Muslim student exploring the roots of his father s side family in Cairo where his father s forefathers used to be the watchman of an ancient synagogue, p...If I am not for myself who will be for meTime for some armchair traveling This time not only geographically, but temporally, with this lovely work of historical fiction revolving via three interconnected timelines around a legendary Torah scroll Back in the day when Egyptians might have been somewhattolerant, there was a thriving Jewish community there, eventually forced to flee the country during the foreign cleansing of 1956 There was a magnificent synagogue and watched over by generations of a Muslim family Now the last Time for some armchair traveling This time not only geographically, but temporally, with this lovely work of historical fiction revolving via three interconnected timelines around a legendary Torah scroll Back in the day when Egyptians might have been somewhattolerant, there was a thriving Jewish community there, eventually forced to flee the country during the foreign cleansing of 1956 There was...This is just a sweet novel, with a Judaica and historical angle that I found compelling enough that I finished this in a day At the center of the book is the ancient Ibn Ezra synagogue in Cairo, and we get three stories that revolve around this building First and second, the narrator Joseph traces his family s connections to the synagogue, which stretch over generations back to an ancestor story Third, we have the story of twin sisters who, with help of scholar Solomon Schechter, rescue the t This is just a sweet novel, with a Judaica and historical angle that I found compelling enough that I finished this in a day At the center of the book is the ancient Ibn Ezra synagogue in Cairo, and we get three stories that revolve around this building First and second, the narrator Joseph traces his family s connections to the synagogue, which stretch over generations back to an ancestor story Third, we have the story of twi...I loved the mixing of old Egypt, colonial Egypt and modern Egypt, woven together like a tapestry A fragmented account of fathers and sons, cousins and strangers, grief, forgiveness and forbidden love This lovely novel brings to life a family of guardians and their stories.This book interweaves two present stories of Joseph and two sisters, with one past story of Ali Joseph s ancestor.As the story builds up, it is interesting But as soon as it reaches its peak, it starts falling apart very fast.Joseph is a literature student at Berkley and a son of a Jewish mother and a Muslim father After the death of his father, he receives a scrap of paper He doesn t understand the meaning of the scroll One day, on a nudge, he decides to take a semester in Cairo and to se This book interweaves two present stories of Joseph and two sisters, with one past story of Ali Joseph s ancestor.As the story builds up, it is interesting But as soon as it reaches its peak, it starts falling apart very fast.Joseph is a literature student at Berkley and a son of a Jewish mother and a Muslim father After the death of his father, he receives a scrap of paper He doesn t understand the meaning of the scroll One day, on a nudge, he decides to take a semester in Cairo and to search for the scroll s meaning.His story collides with the British twin sisters, both widowed, and left with comfortable heritage after his father They are on a mission to rescue sacred texts The deeper their story gets, thetrivial it sounds At the same time, Joseph story is intertwined with his ancestor Ali, a Muslim orphan, gets a job as the first watchman of the synagogue, guar...

26 January 2017

Michael David Lukas