The Open Door: A Novel (Hoopoe Fiction)

I read this for a class on Modern Egyptian History, but as a work of historical fiction I'd recommend it anyhow. This book provides a feminist perspective of life in Egypt in the 1950s. Although the book seems to criticize romance novels, it seems to me that the book fell into many of the same problems (although this is not a shallow romance novel). Everyone is trapped in these political marriages and desires to break free to be with their true love.In my class, we compared society as described in this book to society in the early 20th century, as described in al-Hakim's Return of the Spirit. It is interesting to use the two books to see how much society has changed (and to see how, in some ways, Egypt today is more similar to Egypt at the start of the 20th century than in the mid-20th century).

Read this in college... good book that shows we all, no matter the culture, have the same issues fitting in...

Very interesting way to learn about some historic events.

Very good book, well written and well translated. I'd recommend it for anybody that is interested in learning about the Egyptian culture and an Egyptian woman's internal struggle with freedom. Times may have changed in Egypt, but many of the thoughts and realities within this book remain the same to date.

Brilliant book well written

The Open Door provides an interesting look at a girl coming of age in 1950's Egypt. She has to reconcile her love of country with her commitment to her family and its morals; her desire to embrace feminist ideals of equality; and whether she has a right to pursue a life full of love brought on by desire, or whether she should stick with the 'fundamentals' that would provide her with loveless security.There are periods when the book reads like a romance novel, but they move along quickly and are replaced with something much greater and socio-politically interesting. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested women's political involvement in the Middle East and how the political turmoil of 1950's Egypt affected the average family.

I read this bok while working in Cairo. It provided a great introduction to understanding one aspect of the revolution and its effect on the previous and current generation. Overall a very good read for high school juniors or seniors as a supplement in a Global History course.

Beautifully written story of an Egyptian girl but applicable to any culture in the way it describes emotions about love and understanding oneself. Even though their culture of parent's selecting the spouse is so foreign to us, still young girls need to knows their own goals and their own personalities, less they be heavily influenced by their "love" when they marry young and then wake up years later thinking they have never really lived.The idea of "following rules" and expectations of parents versus following one's heart is an important part of Laiyla's journey.The setting at the time of the Revolution 1952, also provides an understanding of how difficult this time was in the life of the ordinary citizen.

An insight into life in Egypt in the 40s and 50s. Interesting and well written and observed.

Ok viewed as representative of the period

A girl from a middle class Muslim family comes of age during the 1950's in Egypt. After much blundering and thoughtlessness she emerges as a woman, a human with unhindered thoughts and feelings. The novel is a Bildungsroman in essentials, as it is a story of two siblings growing up, facing different crises and finding an identity. Cultural hypocrisy in the Egypt of the time, which was to embrace modern ideals only on paper (especially for the women), is expressed tellingly alongside the tumultuous history of the time. Inspite of the datedness of thought and the rigidness of certain characters, the novel flows with ease and traces of poetry. A basic knowledge of Middle eastern history and present affairs would free the reader of simplistic assumptions of the place, the people and the characters in the novel.