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There are currently 19 member reviews
for City of the Sun
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Mary R. (San Jose, CA)
A Love Letter to Cairo
'City of the Sun' is a love letter to Cairo by the author. She draws the reader in to World War II era Cairo and describes it in such detail that we are there with the characters. It reminded me of the film 'Cairo Time' in the sense that the creator of both stories are obviously so much in love with this mysterious and magical city. However, the characters never seemed to come to full form and I ultimately didn't really care about what happened to them. The story took a long time to come to a dramatic head. I recommend this book with some reservations – I think that readers might overlook weak characters in favor of the historical background and description of life in Cairo during WWII.
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Barbara O. (Maryland Heights, MO)
Page Turner
City of the Sun is a captivating read. In turns, historical, the intrigue of spies and the politics of World War Ii, a romance and murder. This book has it all. Most intriguing the story of the Egyptian Jews and Cairo as it was at the start of the war.the author tells an entertaining story with likable characters that keep your interest to the end. Along the way, the reader revisits history and is transported to a glamorous time when Britain still ruled the world. Entertaining till the end. Bravo.
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Kenneth T. (Houston, TX)
City of the Sun a bit cloudy
City of the Sun, is the first book from Juliana Maio, an Egyptian ex-pat who grew up in Paris and has lived in California since college. Her story is part history of Jewish exile, internecine rivalry within Cairo's pre-WWll Jewish community as well as the political and military machinations of Egypt, Great Britain and the US. All the while a cat and mouse game of Spy vs. Spy goes on. A lot of material for a first time author even with one with the Bona Fides of Ms. Maio. Intriguing plot, engaging femme fatale and enough real life characters to hold our interests. My only complaint is that she relies a bit too much on somewhat precious dialog cliches presumably to set the action in the right time period. It didn't quite strike a strong chord with me, but I can see the appeal to history buffs, WWll aficionados, and people trying to understand some of the roots of today's Mideast political problems.
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Zonetta G. (Winter Springs, FL)
City of the Sun
The author introduces the reader to a segment of WWII that was unfamiliar to me. She is obviously extremely knowledgeable and passionate about Egypt and its peoples and the conflicting ideologies of the various factions, and the Jews of Egypt. While her basic premise and plot were intriguing, I found the development of her main characters a little weak--as if written for a younger audience. I was not as invested in the main couple as I would liked to have to been. Their relationship was a little forced unbelievable. The last quarter of the book was much more exciting, even though a little confusing with all the various characters. The book does, however, inspire an interest to learn more about the North African Theater of WWII.
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Tilli F. (Florence, MA)
A good read
I was at first put off by the colloquial style of the author but then got into the story. It is interesting because of the setting. Egypt during the second world war is something I knew nothing about, and the mixture of Egyptians, Arabs, English and Americans, and the power struggles between and among these groups is at once confusing but intriguing. And, of course the Jews trying again to escape. Parts of the story are emotionally riveting, but for the most part the author does not seem to feel the tensions of the environment she has created. All in all, a good read, not a great one.
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Lee M. (Creve Coeur, MO)
Wow
Fasten your seat belt and settle in for a clever dose of mystery with a sprinkling of history and a darn good story. Ms. Maio knows this part of the world and you can feel her love for it as the plot unfolds. I was really deep into it and then the author added a totally unnecessary explicit sex scene that interrupted the flow and spoilt it all. And the implausible airport "Casablacian" scene added to my dismay. Oh well 3/4 of a good book is better than none?
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Sara F. (Riverbank, CA)
Good Story Just Misses
I wanted to love this book but I just didn't. Historical fiction is my favorite genre so I stuck with it but it is not a page turner or a thriller. Well, not until the last 60 pages or so, anyway. I'm glad to learn more about that place and time from someone with a keen personal interest and would be happy to hear more from Juliana Maio if she could speak less like a reporter and more like a yarn spinner. I hope she tries again.
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