These images successfully summoned all my senses creating a delicious summer read. View all 6 comments. Mar 20, Katherine P rated it it was amazing Shelves: fiction-read , I don't even know where to begin with this book! There's so so so much that I loved and connected too and just truly felt.
I didn't particularly like Iris or Ruby at the beginning. Ruby is trying so hard to be shocking that it's tiresome. She's angry and immature and is really like a child in the midst of a temper tantrum.
Iris is angry too. She's angry that she can't do what she used to do, she's angry that she can't remember what she wants to remember and she's angry that scared. She's used to I don't even know where to begin with this book! She's used to being on her own and isn't overly thrilled to have this child that she doesn't know come crashing into her very controlled home. But then something happens and slowly - so slowly that you don't notice at first - Iris and Ruby begin to connect and form a rapport.
With that connection comes change Iris relaxes, she learns how to talk again and remembers how to laugh. The change in Ruby especially is wonderful.
She finds interests outside of her self-pity and rebellion, she begins to listen. Really she begins to grow up. We also meet Lesley, Iris's daughter and Ruby's mother. Lesley's relationship with both her daughter and her mother is not what she wants them to be and she has no idea how to fix it. The harder she tries to hold on the harder they pull away. In many ways I was able to relate to all the characters in this book.
There is the relationship between Iris and Ruby which is so special and so separate from Lesley, Lesley trying to navigate the waters of having a daughter who is technically an adult but still seems like such a child and also having to really look at herself and figure out what she wants for the first time.
Then there's the setting. Cairo isn't just a label slapped on as window dressing. The story really takes place in Cairo. After reading this I felt like I'd been there - I driven through mazes of narrow streets and alleys, wandered around the market with awe, and toured the museum with all the wonders of Ancient Egypt. I saw glamorous parties where people danced and drank and ignored the fact the war was looming over them.
The pacing was so wonderful. I was immediately pulled into the story and the characters and the city really just came alive for me. While there is a lot of heavy emotions going on and some drama I never felt like it was overwrought or that I just wanted to put the book down. These were characters that really just wanted to spend more time with and continue watching them evolve.
The ending was an ending which made me happy. Books that just stop just drive me crazy. There was some open-endedness but there was also so much growth from all the characters that things felt resolved. I cannot believe this is the first book I've read by Rosie Thomas but it definitely won't be last. View 1 comment. Nov 12, Kirsty rated it it was ok Shelves: abandoned , november I wasn't sure what to expect with Rosie Thomas' work; I was hoping something akin to Kate Morton, but it appeared far more fluffy and drawn out than Morton's often careful, and well-built, plots.
Whilst the storyline sounded okay, it was Egypt which really drew me in when deciding whether to buy this in a charity shop, and I did feel as though Thomas did a good job at building Cairo for the reader. The characters, however, are markedly flat, and their dialogue is both stilted and unnatural. I di I wasn't sure what to expect with Rosie Thomas' work; I was hoping something akin to Kate Morton, but it appeared far more fluffy and drawn out than Morton's often careful, and well-built, plots.
I did not care at all about the characters or what Thomas held in store for them, and gave up around sixty pages in. Not for me. I enjoyed this book. It was a wonderful story about a girl and her grandmother.
The girl and her grandmother form a bond and each learns from the other. Their relationship brings out the best in both of them. It shows how special the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren can be. Cairo is the setting for this story and its historic appeal added to the story. May 04, LindyLouMac rated it really liked it. As a fan of Rosie Thomas's writing for many years I do not understand why I let this title linger on my bookshelves for far too long.
This author has always written a story that I really feel I can immerse myself in, she once again did not disappoint.
A light and easy read, but for me perfect during these times of chaos when concentration can be difficult for many of us. The protagonists Iris and her granddaughter Ruby were at first not particularly likeable or engaging characters but that soon cha As a fan of Rosie Thomas's writing for many years I do not understand why I let this title linger on my bookshelves for far too long. The protagonists Iris and her granddaughter Ruby were at first not particularly likeable or engaging characters but that soon changed as one gets further into the novel.
Moving and reflective inter generational story about love and family relationships. With the detailed descriptive and atmospheric writing you find yourself transported to the chaos of Cairo. An absorbing read for those looking for escapism.
Oct 10, Kate rated it really liked it. I frequently find that my self chosen reading material is a good barometer of how much is going on in my life at any given moment. The light stuff represents chaos, the heavier means there is enough cognitive capacity left to think about what is trying to be said. This then is a perfect example of the right book at the right time.
It is reasonably light yet it gave me some excellent reflective pieces about life love and relationships. An inter-generational story based around dislocation with one I frequently find that my self chosen reading material is a good barometer of how much is going on in my life at any given moment.
Jan 14, Anne rated it it was amazing. Great descriptions of Egypt and the relationship between Iris and Ruby is excellent. I have to add more to this - was thinking about this book at 5am this morning! The relationship between Ruby and the young Egyptian boy is excellent too and the description of how his family live and what they live amongst is really haunting.
Also, a small point, but the descriptions and details of the markets, the journeys through the streets and the beautiful inner courtyard of the house are fantastic. Apr 03, Judy rated it really liked it. Loved it. The story brought back many memories of Cairo, a great read. It's easy to hold on to the good memories when life becomes challenging Most of us have some distant relatives who we are not in contact with of different reasons. It may be bcause they live far away or you didn't get to know them during your youth.
The reasons are many. That's the way it is with Iris and Ruby. Iris is Ruby's grandmother. Most grandmothers are close with their grandchildren, but it's not with these two. The distance makes it difficult and Ruby's mother doesn't have a particula It's easy to hold on to the good memories when life becomes challenging The distance makes it difficult and Ruby's mother doesn't have a particularly good relationship with her mother, so Iris has not been involved in their lives so much.
Ruby lives in England and Iris lives in Egypt, but that doesn't stop Ruby from running away from home and traveling all the way to Egypt on her own, completely unplanned. Iris doesn't even know she's coming. It was all an impulse from Ruby's part. She just wants to get away, escape for many reasons and she ends up to her unknown grandmother who lives a quiet life in Cairo. Iris is starting to become frail and has stayed in her house for many years, and has therefore not noticed any particular changes in her own city.
She also lives in her past. She had a lover she also became engaged to. It's a period of her life she would like to sit alone and think about in the last part of her life.
Her life changes when her granddaughter Ruby unexpectedly appears. She would like to help Iris to remember since the memories of her life is starting to get fragile, but will Iris let her stay? She who's used to being alone with her faithful servants at her mansion? I don't read novels often, but it happens once in a while. Sometimes I come across some good ones and others who doesn't leave any traces behind. This one didn't leave any trace.
It had a good start and I liked this rebel and self-righteous Ruby a lot, but thought that Iri's memories of the past were too slow and the love story was not very inspiring to read about. I liked to read about the present, the bonding between Ruby and Iris. Whether they will create a bond at all or not, of course.
I rather wanted to read about that than all this back and forth between the past and present going on. I like books that merge past and present, but this variant did not intrigue me.
I don't like love stories much. This love story from Iris's past was also too standard. But it's easy to understand she liked that time better than her current life situation, but that part of the book was neither exciting nor inspirational to read about.
I rather wanted to read more about the relationship between Iris and Ruby, and why the relationship between Iris and her own daughter, Lesley, is so strained.
I wanted to read more about that part because it was more interesting to me. I also didn't like the way how the past and present was set up. There was no flow in the transitions. It became a little annoying. Exciting to read about the bonding between Ruby and Iris, and especially to know more about Ruby, the rebel. She's both fun and cool, but apart from that, this novel was just a typical novel where past meets the present, lost love and the fear of forgetting the good times.
A book with a good starting point, but the story becomes too thin and repetive for a book that is over five hundred pages long. I like and prefer thick books, but this was too bad. Iris and Ruby would have been better as a short story. Mar 27, Carolien rated it really liked it Shelves: , romance , wwii. Ruby arrives unexpectedly at her grandmother's house in Cairo where Iris has been living with her memories for a long time. Ruby is thrown into a foreign world as she settles into life with her Iris, while Iris remembers Cairo in when she met the love of her live, Xan, and worked in the local wat office.
I enjoyed the historical section of the story more than the present, but overall an enjoyable read. Apr 03, Jon Blaylock rated it really liked it. I read Reader's Digest special edition, which I assume was abridged. I liked the way the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter played out. In the version I read, I did not have any trouble with the changes in voice between the narrator Iris and the otherwise 3rd person telling of the story.
I recommend this book. Aug 08, Glenda L rated it really liked it. There are lots of good parts in this book. Add a library card to your account to borrow titles, place holds, and add titles to your wish list. Have a card? Add it now to start borrowing from the collection.
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