{"product_id":"the-measure-of-distance-an-immigrant-novel-9781682262351","title":"The Measure of Distance: An Immigrant Novel","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThey went to Cairo, leaving behind the adobe houses built along the edge of the Nile and the villagers who all knew each other and who had lived on this land for more centuries than their names could count. Behind them, they left the imprint of their footsteps for others who might follow.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This family saga begins when Salim, the eldest of three brothers, moves to Cairo at the start of the twentieth century with dreams of opening his own bakery. His decision to leave his ancestral village of Kom Ombo despite his parents’ objections reverberates across generations, kicking off a series of migrations that shape the lives of his family and their descendants throughout the decades that follow. These migrations only intensify after the revolution of 1952—with Misha, Salim’s eldest grandchild, being the first to flee to “Amreeka,” his annual phone calls home becoming briefer and briefer with each passing year.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Culminating with the 2011 protests in Tahrir Square, Pauline Kaldas’s \u003ci\u003eThe Measure of Distance\u003c\/i\u003e is a detailed portrait of immigration against the backdrop of an Egypt in constant flux and an America that is always falling short of the fantasy. Alternating between tales of those who migrate and those who stay, this expansive novel follows its characters as they determine the course of their lives, often choosing one uncertainty over another as they migrate to new lands or plant their roots more firmly in their homeland.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Elegantly written and authentically rendered, \u003ci\u003eThe Measure of Distance\u003c\/i\u003e depicts the immigrant experience with great depth and sensitivity. Pauline Kaldas’s characters ring deeply true in their journeys of discovery, contrasting the experience of self re-creation with the pull of home. A vivid and compelling read.”—Diana Abu-Jaber, author of \u003ci\u003eFencing with the King\u003c\/i\u003e “Braiding one extended family’s story with Egypt’s recent history, Pauline Kaldas’s \u003ci\u003eThe Measure of Distance\u003c\/i\u003e gives voice to those who find themselves, again and again, forced to choose between the promise of immigration and the embrace of a fractured, albeit beloved, home. This rich and layered novel reveals, with astounding insight and compassion, both the intricacies of the contemporary Egyptian experience and the universality of our shared longing for love, belonging, and acceptance.”—Rajia Hassib, author of \u003ci\u003eA Pure Heart\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"University of Arkansas Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50469787238743,"sku":"9781682262351","price":20.21,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781682262351.jpg?v=1744896303","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-measure-of-distance-an-immigrant-novel-9781682262351","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}