The Last Watchman of Old Cairo

Of the novels set in Egypt, few if any have understood how Cairo's place at the crossroads of many religions has broken communities' and families' hearts through the centuries. This novel explores the center of Cairo's oldest places through the story of one family and their search for a mysterious artifact, and for closure.-Trevor Naylor, American University in Cairo Bookstore A beautiful, richly textured novel, ambitious and delicately crafted, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is both a coming-of-age story and a family history, a wide-ranging book about fathers and sons, religion, magic, love, and the essence of storytelling. This book is a joy.-Rabih Alameddine, author of the National Book Award finalist An Unnecessary Woman Lyrical, compassionate and illuminating.-BBC Michael David Lukas has given us an elegiac novel of Cairo- Old Cairo and modern Cairo. Lukas's greatest flair is in capturing the essence of that beautiful, haunted, shabby, beleaguered yet still utterly sublime Middle Eastern city.-Lucette Lagnado, author of The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit and The Arrogant Years Lukas writes marvelously about Old Cairo, a city he cherishes. . . . The Last Watchman of Old Cairo delivers in polyphonic textures a timeless yet contemporary story set in ancient and modern Cairo and Berkeley.-The San Jose Mercury News Weaving together characters from medieval Cairo, Victorian Britain, and contemporary Berkeley, Michael David Lukas has crafted a rich, highly readable story. His themes-the ties between generations, between the West and Egypt, and between Jews and Muslims-are bittersweet and timely. His plot is beautifully paced, and his characters break your heart, even when they have to reach across the generations to do so.-Carla Power, author of the Pulitzer finalist If the Oceans Were Ink Captivating . . . Lukas's warmly affecting sophomore work largely examines what happens to all that life, its memories and stories, when the people experiencing it are gone. . . . Novels like Lukas's can believe in the potential of another version of the world, whether we call it possible or magical or both.-East Bay Express I just finished a wonderful novel by Michael David Lukas, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo. . . . I read the first few pages and I was hooked.-Jeffrey Garret, Chicago Tribune Evocative . . . Lukas turns the Egyptian city into a tantalizingly seductive place of mystery.-Publishers Weekly Fascinating . . . Blending his fictional creations with real characters . . . Lukas creates a thoroughly credible mystery [and] an appealing family drama.-Kirkus Reviews Part mystery, part character study, yet historically accurate, this book should appeal to a broad swath of readers.-Library Journal