In the Eye of the Sun

Set amidst the turmoil of contemporary Middle Eastern politics, this marvelously vivid novel by an Egyptian journalist is an intimate look into the often hidden lives of Arab women today. It tells the story of Asya, a brilliant young woman who grows up in the luxurious world of the Egyptian elite, marries a Westernized husband, and pursues graduate study in England, where she becomes embroiled in a love affair with an Englishman.

But for all her worldliness, Asya remains caught in a struggle between ties to her traditions and desire for independence and sexual fulfillment. Lyrical and honest, sensual and erudite, In the Eye of the Sun is a revealing account of cultural collisions—and the plight of women all to often caught in the middle.

"Engrossing, sometimes poetic, consistently powerful....Probably the most candid and erotic discussion of sexual politics in Middle East fiction."—San Francisco Chroncile

"Something of a landmark....exuberant and absorbing....a bold and important work. [This] is the first novel I know of that successfully renders an Arab, Egyptian Muslim reality in English."—Leila Ahmed, Washington Post Book World