{"product_id":"lyrics-alley-by-leila-aboulela","title":"Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Award for Fiction\u003cbr\u003eShort-listed for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize (South Asia and Europe)\u003cbr\u003eLong listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Aboulela's vivid . . . fleet and engrossing narrative . . . [is full of] a generosity of spirit that extends to all her characters.\"\u003cb\u003e-\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A novel as thoughtful as it is evocative . . . Aboulela writes with precision and depth of feeling.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Beautifully rendered . . . The prose is smooth and clear. . . . As a tale of stricken love between two souls, \u003ci\u003eLyrics Alley \u003c\/i\u003eis impressive.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Leila Aboulela's \u003ci\u003eLyrics Alley\u003c\/i\u003e gives us the rich and complex world of a Sudanese patriarch in the 1950s who presides over a household containing two wives, various nieces, two sons--a new world full of modern ambitions and ancient problems. I read it with the delight one has suddenly stumbling on lush and abundant hidden gardens behind foreign city walls, various with its own life and laws, and infinitely satisfying.\"\u003cb\u003e--Sarah Blake, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Postmistress\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"[Aboulela's] breakthrough novel . . . Real, compelling, and ultimately moving . . . Highly recommended for readers who enjoy family sagas set against a political backdrop, such as Chinua Achebe's \u003ci\u003eThings Fall Apart\u003c\/i\u003e and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's \u003ci\u003eHalf a Yellow Sun.\u003c\/i\u003e\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Rich in detail and generous in spirit toward its complex characters, [\u003ci\u003eLyrics Alley\u003c\/i\u003e] showcases Aboulela's talent for connecting political and personal upheaval. [An] elegantly written family epic that brings to mind Naguib Mahfouz's \u003ci\u003eThe Cairo Trilogy.\u003c\/i\u003e\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Haunting . . . Keeps the reader gripped . . . A tale of powerful feelings and potent words . . . this visceral, epic novel . . . gives fascinating insights into Sudanese society, with different characters embodying the dramatic clash between tradition and modernity. . . . Vividly evoking the alleyways of Sudan, Egypt, and Britain, [\u003ci\u003eLyrics Alley\u003c\/i\u003e] also movingly and meticulously traces the hidden pathways of the mind and heart with all its anger, shame, hate and love.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e (UK)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Each scene is rich with period detail . . . Aboulela has the gift of making her readers care about her characters. This she achieves partly by making us privy to their thoughts, and revealing to us all their conflicts, contradictions, petty vanities, hopes, and amnitions. . . . [She] has created a story for all the senses, one to be savored at leisure.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"In beautiful, subtle prose . . . Aboulela explores themes of love, faith, and divided families with a tender restraint.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eMarie Claire \u003c\/i\u003e(UK)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"An assured and highly readable portrait of a family in flux and two societies--Sudan and Egypt--on the cusp on momentous changes. . . .\u003ci\u003e Lyrics Alley\u003c\/i\u003e is an evocative description of the struggle between tradition and modernization, a conflict that is still being fought in present-day Islamic culture.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eNew Internationalist\u003c\/i\u003e (3 stars)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A tender love story; a family saga, and a portrait of 1950s Sudan teetering on the brink of modernity.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Scotsman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Lyrics Alley\" is the evocative story of an affluent Sudanese family shaken by the shifting powers in their country and the near-tragedy that threatens the legacy they've built for decades.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1950's Sudan, the powerful Abuzeid dynasty has amassed a fortune through their trading firm. With Mahmoud Bey at its helm, they can do no wrong. But when Mahmoud's son, Nur, the brilliant, handsome heir to the business empire, suffers a debilitating accident, the family stands divided in the face of an uncertain future. As British rule nears its end, the country is torn between modernizing influences and the call of traditions past--a conflict reflected in the growing tensions between Mahmoud's two wives: the younger, Nabilah, longs to return to Egypt and escape \"backward-looking\" Sudan; while Waheeba lives traditionally behind veils and closed doors. It's not until Nur asserts himself outside the cultural limits of his parents that his own spirit and the frayed bonds of his family begin to mend.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMoving from Sudanese alleys to cosmopolitan Cairo and a decimated postcolonial Britain, this sweeping tale of desire, loss, despair, and reconciliation is one of the most accomplished portraits ever written about Sudanese society at the time of independence.\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Grove Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51296745029917,"sku":"9780802145758","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0511\/5897\/files\/Screenshot2026-05-16at1.04.16pm.png?v=1778951120","url":"https:\/\/www.middleeastbooks.com\/products\/lyrics-alley-by-leila-aboulela","provider":"Middle East Books and More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}