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The Last Watchman of Old Cairo A Novel Michael David Lukas 9780399181160 Books

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The Last Watchman of Old Cairo A Novel Michael David Lukas 9780399181160 Books

Over the centuries, the relationship between Jews and Moslems has often shifted from intimacy to bitter enmity. In fact, historically, Moslems have been far friendlier to Jews than have Christians. The vitriol spewing out from Islamic extremists today is the most extreme example of the hostility directed at Jews. In my experience, Moslems who are just trying to live their lives in peace have no problem living next door to Jews. In Michael David Lukas' new novel, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo, the close relationships between people of both faiths illustrate the norm, not the exception.

The scene shifts over the centuries
In his novel, Lukas nimbly shifts the scene in Cairo from the 11th-century to the final years of the 19th, and then to the 21st in Cairo and Berkeley. The narrative strand that connects these three scenes is the family of al-Raqb, which the author translates as "the watcher." The founder of this nearly 1,000-year dynasty is Ali, a Muslim boy who is 13 years old when the story commences. Over time, Ali gains the name after becoming the night watchman at the ancient ibn Ezra Synagogue in Cairo.

More than 800 years later, his descendent, Muhammad al-Raqb, holds down the same job. In turn, Muhammad's grandson or great-grandson, Ahmed, guards the ruins of the ancient synagogue as the 21st century approaches.

And his son, Yusuf, or Joseph al-Raqb, is a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, who returns to Cairo to learn about the father he knows only barely.

"A perfect Torah scroll, without flaw or innovation"
The most important aspect of Ali al-Raqb's job is to guard the geniza. This is an attic storeroom where, by Jewish custom, the congregation deposits every scrap of paper that includes one of the names of God. None may be discarded. And, in addition to the marriage contracts, commercial correspondence, and shopping lists in the geniza, there is reportedly a truly ancient scroll, the Ezra Scroll. The scroll is said to be the work of the Prophet Ezra, "a perfect Torah scroll, without flaw or innovation." In other words, it represents the original version of the Old Testament.

Eight centuries later, in 1897, two fifty-something British widows travel to Cairo in search of the Ezra Scroll. They are antiquarians with a specialization in Biblical studies. Together with two well-connected Jews from Britain, they enlist the help of Muhammad al-Raqb in their quest.

A love affair between Muslim and Jew
Yet another century later, Joseph travels to Cairo. After his father died, he had been unable to attend the funeral in Cairo. But a mysterious package that arrives months later leads him to travel there. The package contains a fragment of ancient parchment. We will soon learn that this centuries-old scrap of writing will connect Joseph to his ancestor, Ali al-Raqb, and to the two English ladies.

Joseph is the son of a Muslim father and a Jewish mother. Thus, by Jewish law, he is a Jew. The troubled love between his parents is a central theme in this excellent historical novel.

In the end, Joseph will see himself as the last watchman of the ancient synagogue. "Like my father and his father before him," he muses, "I am but a watcher, a guardian, protecting the geniza documents, and content to persist in their mystery." Will he find that "perfect Torah scroll?" Read it and find out.

About the author
Michael David Lukas is a native of Berkeley, California. The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is his second novel. The first, The Oracle of Stamboul, was both a critical and commercial success. He has lived in Cairo and was for a time employed at the UC Berkeley Center for Middle Eastern Studies.


Tags : The Last Watchman of Old Cairo: A Novel [Michael David Lukas] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b> <b>In this “wonderfully rich” ( San Francisco Chronicle</i>) novel, a young man journeys from California to Cairo to unravel centuries-old family secrets.</b> <b>WINNER OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION’S SOPHIE BRODY AWARD | </b>WINNER OF THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD IN FICTION | Named One of the Ten Best Books of the Year by the BBC | Longlisted for the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association Fiction Prize | A Penguin Random House International One World,Michael David Lukas,The Last Watchman of Old Cairo: A Novel,Spiegel & Grau,0399181164,Historical,Literary,Magical Realism,Cairo (Egypt);History;Fiction.,Domestic fiction,Families,Historical fiction,Historical fiction.,Jews;Cairo (Egypt);History;Fiction.,AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION,Egypt,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Literary,FICTION Magical Realism,Fiction,Fiction-Historical,FictionLiterary,FictionMagical Realism,GENERAL,General Adult,United States,muslim;magic;love;coming of age;middle east;secrets;mysticism;family story;multigenerational fiction;international;contemporary literary fiction;literary;family secrets;legends;Cairo;Moses;scrolls;fathers and sons;family life;historical fiction;literary fiction;historical literary fiction;magical realism;literary magical realism;Berkeley;California;adventure;historical adventure;literary adventure;Nile;Egypt;Cambridge;sacred texts;multigenerational novel;contemporary;ancient setting;religion,family secrets; legends; Cairo; Moses; scrolls; fathers and sons; family life; historical fiction; literary fiction; historical literary fiction; magical realism; literary magical realism; Berkeley; California; adventure; historical adventure; literary adventure; Nile; Egypt; Cambridge; sacred texts; multigenerational novel; contemporary; ancient setting; religion; mysticism; family story; multigenerational fiction; international; contemporary literary fiction; literary; muslim; magic; love; coming of age; middle east; secrets

The Last Watchman of Old Cairo A Novel Michael David Lukas 9780399181160 Books Reviews

The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is wonderfully written, with An engrossing story about cultures I have been wanting to learn more about. This book kept me awake at night as I turned the pages, eager to learn more while engrossed in the story.
I thought the Book wasn't as interesting as Sacred Trash, a non fiction book about the Cairo Geniza. I was apologised about the generations watchmen. That said, I liked the descriptions of modern Cairo and the different family dynamics.
Excellent melding of fact and fiction. An exploration of scholarship and the soul. Well written and enthralling. A tour de force.
I enjoy magical realism, but this story failed to live up to the hype. I found both the origin story of the Ezra Scroll and the current search by Richard to follow its history to be flat and underdeveloped. If not for the quest of the two sisters, the book would have been a waste of precious reading time.
I especially enjoyed this book just having been in Egypt. Gives a colorful account of an Arab who guards a synagogue and the people who want to loot its contents. Very interesting told from the point of view of the descendant of a Jew and and Arab many years later.
Beautifully written book which avoids the obvious and in a very subtle and meaningful way explores the common history of Jew and Arab in Egypt. The intertwined family looks through the generations makes for fascinating reading.
This is such an accessible and generous and thoughtful novel. It’s got literary elegance without pretension. It incorporates historical context without descending into wide swathes of research dumps. It’s got compelling characters with authentic and relatable shortcomings. And perhaps most impressive, it takes seriously religious faith and personal history and human mystery. Can’t recommend it highly enough.
Over the centuries, the relationship between Jews and Moslems has often shifted from intimacy to bitter enmity. In fact, historically, Moslems have been far friendlier to Jews than have Christians. The vitriol spewing out from Islamic extremists today is the most extreme example of the hostility directed at Jews. In my experience, Moslems who are just trying to live their lives in peace have no problem living next door to Jews. In Michael David Lukas' new novel, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo, the close relationships between people of both faiths illustrate the norm, not the exception.

The scene shifts over the centuries
In his novel, Lukas nimbly shifts the scene in Cairo from the 11th-century to the final years of the 19th, and then to the 21st in Cairo and Berkeley. The narrative strand that connects these three scenes is the family of al-Raqb, which the author translates as "the watcher." The founder of this nearly 1,000-year dynasty is Ali, a Muslim boy who is 13 years old when the story commences. Over time, Ali gains the name after becoming the night watchman at the ancient ibn Ezra Synagogue in Cairo.

More than 800 years later, his descendent, Muhammad al-Raqb, holds down the same job. In turn, Muhammad's grandson or great-grandson, Ahmed, guards the ruins of the ancient synagogue as the 21st century approaches.

And his son, Yusuf, or Joseph al-Raqb, is a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, who returns to Cairo to learn about the father he knows only barely.

"A perfect Torah scroll, without flaw or innovation"
The most important aspect of Ali al-Raqb's job is to guard the geniza. This is an attic storeroom where, by Jewish custom, the congregation deposits every scrap of paper that includes one of the names of God. None may be discarded. And, in addition to the marriage contracts, commercial correspondence, and shopping lists in the geniza, there is reportedly a truly ancient scroll, the Ezra Scroll. The scroll is said to be the work of the Prophet Ezra, "a perfect Torah scroll, without flaw or innovation." In other words, it represents the original version of the Old Testament.

Eight centuries later, in 1897, two fifty-something British widows travel to Cairo in search of the Ezra Scroll. They are antiquarians with a specialization in Biblical studies. Together with two well-connected Jews from Britain, they enlist the help of Muhammad al-Raqb in their quest.

A love affair between Muslim and Jew
Yet another century later, Joseph travels to Cairo. After his father died, he had been unable to attend the funeral in Cairo. But a mysterious package that arrives months later leads him to travel there. The package contains a fragment of ancient parchment. We will soon learn that this centuries-old scrap of writing will connect Joseph to his ancestor, Ali al-Raqb, and to the two English ladies.

Joseph is the son of a Muslim father and a Jewish mother. Thus, by Jewish law, he is a Jew. The troubled love between his parents is a central theme in this excellent historical novel.

In the end, Joseph will see himself as the last watchman of the ancient synagogue. "Like my father and his father before him," he muses, "I am but a watcher, a guardian, protecting the geniza documents, and content to persist in their mystery." Will he find that "perfect Torah scroll?" Read it and find out.

About the author
Michael David Lukas is a native of Berkeley, California. The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is his second novel. The first, The Oracle of Stamboul, was both a critical and commercial success. He has lived in Cairo and was for a time employed at the UC Berkeley Center for Middle Eastern Studies.