- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; 1 edition (July 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0375411240
- ISBN-13: 978-0375411243
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 12.9 x 2.1 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,745,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
A mother’s betrayal, an unexpurgated copy of The Arabian Nights, a dazzling perfume-maker, and the scent of rose attar all serve to awaken a girl of thirteen to erotic life.
In Rikki Ducornet’s new novel, Elizabeth, the daughter of a professor of history living in Cairo in the 1950s, tells how she came to be an anatomist of mummies, as she opens up to us the sensations and aromas of ancient times, and explains how the city of Cairo itself gives her power – and wisdom – and takes away from her the part of the self that is necessary for love.
When her mother leaves her father to “walk” the streets of Cairo, and her father forgets himself in games of chess and war, thirteen-year-old Elizabeth ponders Schéhérazade’s words, “It is good for a girl to be with
a man,” and finds comfort at the shop of Ramses Ragab, a master perfumer dedicated to resurrecting the lost
fragrances of the past (the Susinum prized by Roman women; the nardinon loved by Pliny; the hekenou of
the Pharaohs).
Under the tutelage of the perfumer, Elizabeth reads ancient esoteric texts and learns the mysteries of fragrance. Ramses Ragab is a sensitive and brilliant man, and Elizabeth’s burst of love for him has a child’s intensity and a young woman’s passion. When her father hires a magician to bring back his wife, Elizabeth
discovers just how precious she herself is – and how worthless – as a girl and soon to be beautiful woman,
in this ancient land of stone, sand, and darkness.
In Rikki Ducornet’s new novel, Elizabeth, the daughter of a professor of history living in Cairo in the 1950s, tells how she came to be an anatomist of mummies, as she opens up to us the sensations and aromas of ancient times, and explains how the city of Cairo itself gives her power – and wisdom – and takes away from her the part of the self that is necessary for love.
When her mother leaves her father to “walk” the streets of Cairo, and her father forgets himself in games of chess and war, thirteen-year-old Elizabeth ponders Schéhérazade’s words, “It is good for a girl to be with
a man,” and finds comfort at the shop of Ramses Ragab, a master perfumer dedicated to resurrecting the lost
fragrances of the past (the Susinum prized by Roman women; the nardinon loved by Pliny; the hekenou of
the Pharaohs).
Under the tutelage of the perfumer, Elizabeth reads ancient esoteric texts and learns the mysteries of fragrance. Ramses Ragab is a sensitive and brilliant man, and Elizabeth’s burst of love for him has a child’s intensity and a young woman’s passion. When her father hires a magician to bring back his wife, Elizabeth
discovers just how precious she herself is – and how worthless – as a girl and soon to be beautiful woman,
in this ancient land of stone, sand, and darkness.
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5 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A perfumed rememberance of things past.
6 Dec 2003
Format:Hardcover
13-year old Elizabeth lives with her parents, a bumbling professor father and an exquisite, hot-blooded beauty of a mother, in Cairo of the 1950s. When Elizabeth's mother leaves the family, for sexual excitement, Elizabeth finds that she has to care for her father's increasing mental and physical deterioration. At the same time, she finds herself drawn to the beauty and mystery of Egypt, embodied in the "gazelle" man, her father's friend Ramses, who is a perfume-maker. It's a languid, episodic brief novel, with slight detours into the occult, reminiscent of the work of Jeanette Winterson. Like Winterson, Ducornet creates postmodern philosophical fables that masquerade as novels. With painterly precision, and a certain word-sorcery, "Gazelle" muses on the nature of love and sexual awakening; memory; perfume making; illness; and mother-daughter, father-daughter relationships. The reader is well served by just immersing themselves in the rich and quirky prose, and the exotic scents and smells of Egypt. The scenes with Elizabeth's cold and glamorous mother provide much needed tension in this vaporous, attar-scented novel.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Americans in Egypt, 1950s
22 Mar 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
During the 1950s Egypt was a totally different place and the era of the unwanted American had not yet appeared. Pre-teen Elizabeth goes to Cairo with her parents when her father, a professor, on a Fulbright scholarship Elizabeth's father transported his wife and child to Cairo, Egypt for one year.
It is here in the turbulent, yet quiet of exotic air that young Liz finds herself stuck with her ailing father when her mother (an Icelander) decides to leave. She doesn't go far just moves out of their abode and proceeds to demoralize her husband and shake her daughter's life.
I love the prose of this novel. Ducornet's ability to draw the reader into the scene is wonderful. Recommend this book to anyone who likes good prose, and family life abroad - albeit with stress.
It is here in the turbulent, yet quiet of exotic air that young Liz finds herself stuck with her ailing father when her mother (an Icelander) decides to leave. She doesn't go far just moves out of their abode and proceeds to demoralize her husband and shake her daughter's life.
I love the prose of this novel. Ducornet's ability to draw the reader into the scene is wonderful. Recommend this book to anyone who likes good prose, and family life abroad - albeit with stress.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
absoulty loved it!!
26 Mar 2006
Format:Hardcover
i loved this book with every fiber of my being!! i would have read it again and again but a couple months ago i lent it to a friend and havent seen it since. maby my love for it was partialy because i was in egypt when i read it. this book was very poetic and went indepth about the emptions of sexually frustrated young girls. i recomed this book to anyone who would take the time to read it!
PS
forgive any spelling mistakes you might find, i cant spell to save my life!
PS
forgive any spelling mistakes you might find, i cant spell to save my life!
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