Bruce Colbert

Bruce Colbert's new novel, The Cairo Arrangement, makes you believe you're caught up in the violence, intrigue and stink of that ancient city. His vast knowledge of the Arab world makes this reading experience so palpable as the events unfold during the turbulent Mubarak years. Worth a read.

A World Weary Academic Finds Himself Swept into Intrigue in The Cairo Arrangement

This book has an absorbing ensemble cast of characters whose individual stories blend into a carefully spun plot that plays out in the waning days of Hosni Mubarak’s regime. There are scheming Saudi billionaires, an enigmatic Mossad agent, military leaders, and a visiting scholar and journalist who all become entangled in a plot to overthrow the Egyptian government.

The book is well-written and engaging, and show more includes a very accurate portrayal of Cairo (I spent three weeks there several years ago and I found it to be very true-to-life). The complexities of the plot and characters were enjoyable, and it also provided a lesson in Egyptian history, particularly that of the recent government, regional geopolitical tensions, and the complications of Western influences. show less

Cairo Assignment is a valuable book if not the greatest novel ever written - lots of evocative and well-observed atmosphere, along with persuasive protagonists experiencing convincing dilemmas - it is clear that the author has tremendous observational skills and genuine knowledge of the place and how its attributes contribute to politics and culture of the area.what is intriguing is the way that we also know how the narrator is being potentially manipulated in the political environment and show more so we learn more about that environment. There is much valuable commentary about the place and the period, and the force that were active at the time and which feed into the narrative - the woman (without giving it all away) is sufficiently compelling to warrant his getting into trouble because of her - and we observe it happening outside what he knows himself which is always a difficult trick. Thoroughly readable on several levels, and I would recommend. show less

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Unlike some other people I had no problems downloading this book.

This book would not be my usual fayre of reading, being set in the quite recent past in Egypt during Hosni Mubarak's leadership and before he was deposed from power. I tend to prefer my historical fiction to be older than this and any intrigue to be more of a fictional nature. However having said this overall I found this an enjoyable book once I got into the book and show more knew where it was heading. I did find the initial part of the book to be quite disjointed and I would have liked events to be put into more of a context. Once this was established, however, events moved on at a pace and you got the story told from a few different viewpoints which added to the understanding of it. The book gave a good feeling of place in Egypt, and the mood of the times, as well as of the intrigue between Egypt and Israel. There was certainly some inherent tension as the book built up to the culmination of events. I do feel the book came to quite a quick ending.

If you are interested in modern day events in the Middle East I think this would a good read for you, and I would be happy to read any other books by Bruce Colbert, but I must be honest and say he will not figure at the top of my favourite authors list as he is writing about themes I generally want to read books to get away from. Possibly a tad too realistic for my liking, but that doesn't mean there will not be a key audience out there who will enjoy this book even more than I did.

I was given an advance copy of this book for a fair and honest review. show less