The last watchman of Old Cairo : a novel / Michael David Lukas.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lukas, Michael David, author.

Contributor:

Judith Greenblatt Endowment Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews--Egypt--Cairo--History--Fiction.

Jews.

History.

Cairo (Egypt)--History--Fiction.

Cairo (Egypt).

Egypt--Cairo.

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Domestic fiction.

Fiction.

History.

Physical Description:

270 pages ; 22 cm

regular print

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Spiegel & Grau, [2018]

Summary:

"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"--Amazon.com.

"A spellbinding journey 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."--Jacket.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Middle East Book Award - Youth Literature, Honorable Mention, 2019

Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, Winner, 2019

National Jewish Book Awards - Fiction, Winner, 2018

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Judith Greenblatt Endowment Fund.

ISBN:

9780399181160

0399181164

9780525511946

0525511946

OCLC:

985966693

Publisher Number:

99976674644

40028019629