Al Pacino: The Authorized Biography - Al Pacino, Lawrence Grobel

Advantages: entertaining
Disadvantages: none

...I don’t get to London as often as I’d like to, so when I find a book dealing with this city, I buy it as a (weak) substitute. When I saw ‘Only In London’ by Hanan Al-Shaykh in the English corner of a German bookshop I thought I’d found a twin of the Buddha in Suburbia. How off the point I was I found out at home when I read the Note on the Author. I learnt not only that Hanan is an Arabic woman’s name, but also that Hanan Al-Shaykh is one of the leading contemporary Women Writers in the Arab world. She writes in Arabic, her novels have been translated into nine foreign languages. ‘Only In London’ was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. I was intrigued and looked the author up on the net. I don’t share the objection to translations many speakers... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Excellent insight into the multicultural city London
Disadvantages: The ending

...I don't normally read books by authors that I don't know, so when I walked past the hanan al shaykh books in my college library, I didn't notice them. However one day, my lesson got cancelled and I was stuck inside the library. I picked up a bunch of books including Only in London, and surprisingly this was the only book that I decided to take out. The synopsis at the back doesn't excite the reader, as it generally talks about four people that are traveling to London from Dubai. However, the story picks up after the first chapter or so, as it revels deeply into the past of the four characters. Basically, there are four main characters in the story, Lamis, who has recently divorced her husband. Amira, who is a Moroccan prostitute. Jonathan, an Islamic art expert at Nicholbys, and finally Samir, a man who at the beginning of the book... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: A real-life adventure of the most poetic kind
Disadvantages: Heavy going in places, a few doubts on strict authenticity

...British interests. On the other hand, he had won the trust of many of the tribes throughout what was then known as Arabia, and they believed that he truly supported their cause of Arab independence (from Turkey & from everyone else). Did he do either? On the evidence he himself presents in Seven Pillars of Wisdom, he came very close to doing both. That, however, is one crucial fact about this book. It is autobiographical. Lawrence’s own Appendix lists dates and places from his “skeleton” diary and he confesses that on occasion he has “preferred memory to the calendar”. Other authors considering the events have stated that experiments have shown that some of the more daring exploits are simply impossible given the distances involved. They may therefore be false, they may be exaggerated for effect, they may simply be mis... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful