At the next Banipal Book Club meeting we will be discussing Embrace on Brooklyn Bridge by Egyptian author Ezzedine C. Fishere, translated by John Peate.

On the eve of Salma’s twenty-first birthday, scattered friends and family converge on New York for a celebration organized by Darwish, her obstinate grandfather. Each guest’s journey to this fated gathering takes on an unexpected significance, as they find themselves revisiting the choices they have made in life and rethinking their relationships with one another and the country in which they live. Through these characters linked by a birthday party, Fishere explores the experience of migration and issues of identity and belonging.

You can read an extract of the novel on the Hoopoe Fiction website: http://hoopoefiction.com/wp-content/uploads/importdata/extracts/9789774168192.pdf

Read Sally Gomaa’s book review on the Banipal website: http://www.banipal.co.uk/book_reviews/91/embrace-on-brooklyn-bridge/

There is a copy of the book in the BALMAL library