An interesting story based on the political and social happenings in Egypt. I enjoyed reading about the effects on people but some of the decisions frustrated me. I guess that’s a sign of a good piece. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The protests in Tahrir Square are unfolding, Mubarak is out of power, at least physically, and refugees from all over the Middle East and Africa are stuck in Cairo waiting for a green light to leave for better worlds. There are international organisations at work to help them, but not all of them are qualified to get the official support. Escaping the chaos from Iraq with her husband, Dalia failed to convince the UN representatives that she deserves to join her husband in the States. But attorney Charlie who handled her case cannot give up, also because he is deeply in a kind of love with her; he tries, against the law, to get her the proper (fake) documentation, and he even get into the plot a fresh employee of the UNCHR.
I personally have a couple of mixed feelings about the book. I enjoyed the writing and the author has a certain power to keep you turning the pages, although the plot development is not always satisfactory. I've found more than once that the different little stories making the book do not necessarily connect smoothly, one of them being Charlie's platonic love. One of the parts that really made sense was about the process of analysing and accepting/rejecting the various files, but I suppose that for that you don't need to read a novel, as a scientific/feature article might be just enough.
I've pushed myself until the end - which was less than satisfactory - trying to read it, but my overall impression is that it could have been (much) better.

Rating: 2.5 stars

A lot of different types of people come together in this not too distant historical tale.

LIVE FROM CAIRO, by Ian Bassingthwaighte

This novel is plot-driven, suspenseful, and offers a compelling window into the plight of refugees. Bassignthwaighte lived in Egypt as a Fulbright Scholar, and writes with authentic attention to details. In the wake of Egyptian President Mubarak’s resignation, armed soldiers patrol Cairo’s streets to quell mass demonstrations and enforce curfew. “Protesters carried signs and rocks. Soldiers carried bigger guns and radios. Each radio could turn one soldier into a truckload.”

Cairo has become a waypoint for refugees from Iraq, Somalia, Sudan who are seeking resettlement in more peaceful European or American locales. Migrants with temporary status exist in limbo as they petition the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for asylum. The stakes are high—for ordinary citizens as well as for the influx of migrants. “Some people said the Egyptian Museum had become a makeshift prison. At night, police hauled protesters to the basement and tortured them…”

The novel, cinematic in scope and intensity, explores a gray moral area where young staff members judge the merits of each petitioner for asylum. One American attorney, Charlie, thinks he loves Iraqi refugee Dalia. Dalia seeks to join her husband, Omran, in Boston. Omran received a pass to go to America because he’d worked for them in Baghdad. Hana’s petition is at first denied, in part because she cannot produce official marriage documents, and she also refuses to recount grim details of being raped by prison guards. In a “Gift of the Magi” paradox, when Dalia is on the verge of receiving (forged) transit papers to America, her husband Omran leaves his sanctuary in America, flying to Cairo to join her.

Another American, Hana, finds herself torn between upholding the stated protocol of the UNHCR, or following her instinct to grant a pass to all deserving refugees. In one of the major paradoxes of the novel—and of our times—there are so few official permits available for so many asylum seekers that only the most suffering of the suffering stand a chance to receive official passports to permanent resettlement elsewhere.

This novel opened my awareness to the magnitude of the contemporary refugee crisis. According to official UNHCR statistics (July, 2017) there are 20 people forcibly displaced every minute of every day worldwide. Currently, more than 65 million people are displaced, either internally, or living temporarily in refugee camps or waypoints such as Cairo. LIVE FROM CAIRO offers a compelling cast of characters snared in a particular historic moment. What the novel needs, and what the world needs, is more love, more inner story of those struggling to live their lives and create peaceful communities in the midst of unspeakable violence.

Live from Cairo is about people operating in grey areas - NGO lawyers whose morality conflicts with the law; refugees who are displaced, living in limbo while their right to resettle is assessed; local Egyptians whose love for their homeland abuts their hatred for the regime.

Egypt’s revolution of 2011, which ousted Hosni Mubarak and resulted in violent clashes between protesters and armed forces, forms the backdrop of the book. It’s not the main focus of the plot, but the constant threat of brutality informs everything that happens. The writing’s economical style creates momentum and a sense of urgency that does not let up. The final chapters in particular make for tense, nail-biting stuff!

Some characters felt more fully realised than others – Hana the UNHCR bureaucrat, despite a tragic backstory, remained inscrutable. On the other hand, Aos the Egyptian translator, was heartbreakingly real to me. And while I don’t expect that everyone will live happily ever after in this kind of story, I was left a little unsatisfied by the fact that so much is unresolved at the end.

I found this book to be gripping, affecting, and horizon-broadening. Live from Cairo is a terrific read.

LIVE FROM CAIRO by Ian Bassingthwaighte received starred reviews from Kirkus and Library Journal. Although this is a debut, Bassingthwaighte has won awards for short fiction and was a finalist for the Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative. He also knows of what he writes, having worked at an Egyptian legal aid office in 2009 as a Fulbright Fellow and subsequently composing this tale of Iraqi refugee Dalia's efforts to be granted a visa to join her translator husband in the US, along with the efforts by Charlie (her attorney), Hana (a resettlement caseworker), and Aos (a translator). LIVE FROM CAIRO dealt with difficult ethical questions and deserves praise as a literary novel. Although the frustration with the bureaucracy was so pervasive that the book felt slow to me and I worried about Hana's ability to make strong decisions, I know there are English and History faculty who would appreciate the complexity and nuances which Bassingthwaighte raises.

If asked, I would be more likely to hand students Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist) instead. Hamid’s title is much shorter (240 pages versus 336) and involves young people, Nadia and Saeed, who are trying to define themselves and begin their lives despite the disruption of war. Even though Hamid employs a type of "magical realism" in his exploration of the refugee crisis, I do think students could follow Exit West and would be interested. It, too, received starred reviews from Kirkus and Library Journal and another from Booklist.

Link in live post: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/magical-novel-exit-west-explores-makes-refugees-leave-home/

This book is beautifully written. Bassingthwaigthe's characters lift off the page; they are funny, complicated, and real. I was thoroughly invested in them and wanted to know what happened next. The focus on middle eastern politics, the fight for democracy, and refugees feel particularly relevant to our times. I felt as though the plot got a bit convoluted and muddled by the end, but overall a solid book.

Read this for a different view of the refugee crisis. Bashingthwaite has chosen Cairo in 2011 as his setting but the deep differences and problems for those seeking to resettle in the US have echoed around the world and are only growing worse. He's created an extremely sympathetic figure in Dalia. The others, Charlie, Ans, Hana, are also well drawn. This isn't the easiest novel in the world but it's going to make you think about the people we've all seen on the news. The chaos of Cairo and the craziness of the situation could have overwhelmed a less facile author but Bassingthwaite has made good use of his own experiences. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This time my international reading was set in Egypt. A place that normally fascinates me historically, back in the day of pharaohs. The recent events have put the country in the news quite often and I was interested in the literary perspective. Set during the tempestuous post revolution, post president's ousting from power time of 2011, the novel links several individual storylines that gets inextricably tangled up as one woman tries to leave Egypt to go be with her beloved but not entirely legal partner in the US. It's a fascinating look at the immigration and refugee crisis, because of its intimacy. Faceless throngs are infinitely easier to hate and ignore, personalize an account, make it real or realistic enough for the reader to care bout and there's a chance a mind might be changed or at least broadened. It's a difficult book to read, emotionally devastating at times, but not utterly pessimistic or hopeless, because time and again kindness, bravery and generosity of spirit do seem to triumph. The book is well written, most auspicious of a debut, at times overwritten (motivations overexplained or actually more like every single motivation explained leaving nothing to imagination), but overall very nicely done. The author knows what he's writing about too, having actually traveled to Egypt and it shows in details and vividness with which he brings that world to life. Do yourself a favor and check out his website for some terrific photography, some of which serves as a perfect companion to this book. Heavy but worthy read. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

3.5-4 stars

Live from Cairo starts out very strong, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first third of the book. Ian Bassingthwaighte writes beautifully and intelligently, and he captures the sense of unrest and unease felt by the residents of Cairo following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Cairo is under a curfew, and individuals fleeing neighboring Middle East countries find themselves trapped in Egypt. While Live from Cairo focuses on the plight of an Iraqi woman, Dalia, whose husband has already left for the United States, the story has much broader implications. As the world continues to battle an ever-worsening refugee crisis, I appreciated Bassingthwaighte’s detailed descriptions of the political and religious conflicts in the region, and his incorporation of a personal element as well made the story engaging. My one complaint was that the book was too drawn out; a shorter, more concise resolution would have made the book a solid 4-4.5 for me. Thanks to the publisher for the chance to read and review this thought-provoking novel. I was certainly glad I read it.

3+ stars. I so wish I had liked Live from Cairo more. It deals with really timely topics -- refugees trying to get to the US and the violence under military rule in Egypt. It has an interesting set of characters -- Americans Charlie and Hana working in Cairo for agencies more or less efficiently helping displaced people gain refugee status -- and an Iraqi couple trying to reunite despite the quagmire of paperwork and hearings. And it started off well -- the author made me feel like I was getting a real flavour of Cairo in all of its troubles. But then it felt like the writer's imagination got the better of him -- he threw in way too much plot and drama leaving me feeling like the characters I had come to care for had become cartoonish, albeit tragically so. But don't trust my review. There are some very enthusiastic reviews for this one. Based on the beginning, I think I was looking for something different. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

There are some jobs I know I could never perform: therapist, dental hygienist, anything to do with child protective services. I’m not strong enough for those jobs. After reading Live from Cairo, by Ian Bassingthwaighte, I have to add another to the list. I will never be able to be one of the people who decides which refugees move on to a safe country and which have to stay behind. Live from Cairo tells the story of two people who try to help refugees as they get try to help one woman reunite with her husband at the same time as the 2011 Egyptian Revolution grows increasingly violent.

The rules regarding refugee resettlement are strict and arbitrary. Hana, an Iraqi American, learns this within days of her new job at the UN Refugee Agency. Her job is to read the testimonies of hundreds of refugees who’ve landed in Cairo from Iraqi, Lebanon, and other countries in turmoil and decide which ones should be forwarded for official consideration. The ones that make it to the top of the pile are heartbreaking cases in need of urgent help. Ideally, there would be room for everyone, but refugees aren’t welcome in a lot countries. Once the quota fills up, that’s it. Live from Cairo really kicks off when Hana interviews Dalia, an Iraqi refugee who’s husband is already living in Boston. When Dalia omits a critical part of her testimony, she is rejected for consideration by the arbitrary rules.

Dalia’s lawyer, Charlie, who has fallen deeply in love with her, does everything he can to keep her case alive. After Dalia receives her official rejection and her husband promises to come back from America so that they can be together, Charlie decides that the only way to get Dalia out of Egypt is to start breaking the rules. If they can forge a pass for her, with faked medical information that makes it look like Dalia will die if she doesn’t get medical treatment in the west, Charlie believes he can get her to America. From that point to the end of the novel, Charlie and his accomplices demonstrate in the least funny way possible that amateurs are terrible at committing crimes.

Live from Cairo is an overstuffed novel. In attempting to write about both the plight of an Iraqi refugee and the protests in Tahrir Square and the Egyptian Revolution, Bassingthwaighte overwrites long parts of this book. The best parts, I felt, where the sections tightly focused on Hana, Charlie, and Dahlia. The chapters that tell the backstory or side activities of Aos, Charlie’s translator, and Aos’ acquaintances or the ones about what Dalia’s husband is doing in Boston diffused much of the tension about whether Charlie et al. would succeed. I understand the temptation to provide context for a story, but in a book that treads the line between literary fiction and thriller, less is more. More is too much.

What I liked best about Live from Cairo was the way the characters—Hana, Charlie, Aos, Dalia—repeatedly face the choice of being brave and getting hurt or walking away and saving one’s skin. Dalia is quietly brave for her husband, but cannot face things that happened to her to save him and get herself out of Baghdad. Charlie is loudly, Quixotically brave, tilting at every windmill in sight in the hopes of making a difference. Hana and Aos have both run away in the past and torment themselves with the memories. With Dalia’s case and the Revolution, both have the chance to redeem themselves, at least in their own eyes. With a little more editing, these struggles would have shone all the brighter and Live from Cairo would be a truly outstanding book.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration. It will be released 11 July 2017.

The setting is Cairo, 2011, post-Mubarak. The impossibility of the refugee situation paired with the ongoing crisis in Cairo.

"..an impulsive American attorney [Charlie], a methodical Egyptian translator [Aos], and a disillusioned Iraqi-American resettlement officer [Hana] trying to protect a refugee [Dalia] who finds herself trapped in Cairo during the turbulent aftermath of the January 25 revolution." And Dalia's husband, Omran, who waits for her in the US.

The book lost some power with what seemed to me continuous sameness. Perhaps this was the desparation of the situation and the driving force of the novel--how to get Dalia reunited with her husband in the US via the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Dense, relentless, repetitive, heartbreaking, with occasionally brilliant phrases and descriptions.

A few:
"parallel parking required a surgical touch..." [Mustafa, the cab driver--there's a lot with driving--he also annihilates and pulverizes a gas pedal.]
"... a large man made giant by his fury..."
"Stories are great weights unless told often."
"...eyes were also strawberry, or at least felt like strawberries. Almost granular."
"...completely irrigated wth boxed wine..."

and many more

BUT. This should have been a compelling story and sometimes I just slogged through it. Powerful, yes. Believable, absolutely. This is the kind of story I absolutely love. Nonetheless, at times it felt flat.

A terrific book that is incredibly timely. Set in Egypt after the overthrow of Mubarak ,the book focuses on a young woman who has escaped from Iraq but finds herself rootless in Egypt. Her husband's immigration to the US was approved due to emotional hardship but hers was denied. The story revolves around her attempts to get papers and the people involved in the process. A disillusioned idealistic lawyer, his translator, and a young Iraqi American resettlement officer from UNHCR round out the cast of characters that play out the difficulties of asylum and refugees and the inhumanity of the situation. Captivating language and characters combined with a superb and fitting tale to the world of 2017 makes this a must read.Anyone with a heart cannot help but be touched by the reality posed within these pages.

This book appealed to me as I lived in Egypt from 2008 to 2015 however it wasn't what I was expecting at all. It could have been set anywhere, cairo didn't feel like cairo to me in the book. I couldn't relate to the characters, I felt the author explained crumbs on a seat belt better than he pulled me into the character lives. Perhaps my disappointment is because I was there in this time and for me the book didn't do it justice, it was bland, wordy and forgettable unfortunately.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The book details the hardships faced by those who lived through the Egyptian revolution in 2011. The story helps to humanize the revolution. We are introduced to refugees who enter Egypt in the hopes of finding a better life. Lawyers and UN workers who dedicate their time and life to helping those refugees. Egyptian citizens who struggle with post Mubarak life, being part of the revolution, and how they can be a part of the solution.

I found it interesting that the main focus of the story was on a refugee rather than the protesters in Tahrir. It made me think of the revolution and refugees's in a whole other light. One of the most poignant quotes reads Hearts don't break, they simply continue. This perfectly sums up the plight of our characters. I constantly found myself thinking about how I would react if it were me in these situations. I think that is a testament in itself to the power of this novel.

Thank you to the publishers for making this available to me through NetGalley.

While the so-called Western powers discharge bombs all around the world, normal people flee, leave their homes and living conditions that have become inhumane and insecure. These Western powers, however, would like to impose limits on these desperate drifts, so in many places where refugees gather, there are offices in which their cases are being assessed, to see if these people are worthy of reaching the coveted West. So it is in Cairo, where Dalia is locked because there are no official documents of her marriage with a man who has managed to reach America and because her case is not urgent. In fact, Dalia is too pragmatic and proud to speak in front of the frosty American woman who asks her what she really suffered, and her instance of emigration is rejected. There is a man who knows how things are, named Charlie, an American human rights lawyer, who, while being in love with the woman, makes the possible and the impossible to send her away, also because in Egypt has in the meantime begun the revolution, and that little security that could have been there is no more. As Charlie keeps trying to legally send the woman to America, events become more convulsive, desperate, and yet ridiculous, slipping inexorably to the catastrophe.
Great book, well written, that lights up a reality we do not know, or maybe we do not want to know.
I thank Scribner and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Live from Cairo portrayed an American lawyer, Charlie, who moved to Cairo to work with refugees. He wanted to do good and tried, but things went awry. Charlie had issues, with his brother, co-workers, and one refugee who he got a little too close to, which is most likely why he got into the trouble he did.

I had different expectations for this book however, I did enjoy much of the story, along with the descriptions and sights of Cairo, a city I lived in for two years. A good book if you like mystery set in foreign countries.

Cairo, 2011. President Mubarak is ousted from power. The political climate had made it impossible to avoid skirmishes between the army, protesters and the police. Refugees who have escaped war are stuck in street fights as libraries and police stations go up in flame, glass bottles of flammable liquid are thrown and the force of water cannons is unleashed on the populace. Thousands of refugees, trapped in Cairo during the aftermath of the January 25 revolution, file resettlement petitions. Only a fraction of the petitions are approved.

Charlie, an American attorney and Aos, his translator, work for the Refugee Relief Project in Cairo. Their goal: to send every refugee to a safer place. This will not happen. Higher priority is given to victims of abduction, torture, rape or extreme medical necessity. One such refugee is Dalia. Her completed application was recently denied by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Hana, a newly appointed Iraqi-American resettlement officer has sent a rejection letter to Charlie's office regarding Dalia's petition.

Dalia's case is compelling. Omran, her husband, worked for the American Army Engineering Brigade and was involved in rebuilding exploded pipes and water main breaks. The militia painted Omran as an enemy. He was tortured, beaten and lost an eye. The American Embassy, believing in non-negotiation, offered limited resources. Dalia did unspeakable things to win Omran's release. Omran has resettled in America, however, Dalia has not. Although married according to village tradition, no legal documentation of their marriage exists.

Charlie, Aos, Hana and Dalia embark upon a dangerous path of questionable legality to reunite Dalia and Omran in America. There will be resultant risks and repercussions for trying to work the system and settle Dalia abroad.

Charlie has taken a special interest in Dalia. His amorous feelings toward her have compelled him to place her resettlement petition at the top of his enormous case load. He is determined to convince or coerce Aos and Hana to jump on board and use extraordinary measures to change the narrative of Dalia's quest for safety.

"Live from Cairo: A Novel" by Ian Bassingthwaighte handily addresses the refugee crisis in war torn Iraq. Many refugees must repatriate to their home countries or integrate into the country they flee to. How can they make new lives if, as non-citizens, they cannot find employment? Most are trapped in a web of impossibility and inhumanity. There is no easy solution. Ian Bassingthwaighte has written a superb tome on the difficult path for refugees and asylum seekers.

Thank you Scribner and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Live from Cairo".