Temple Bar

Download or read book Temple Bar written by Bahaa Abdelmegid and published by American University in Cairo Press. This book was released on 2014-09-01 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dublin is alien territory for young and impoverished Egyptian academic Mutazz, who is preparing a PhD on Irish poet Seamus Heaney. Mutazz has enough problems with his family's high expectations and the unrequited, idealized love that he left behind in Cairo. Now he has to deal with cantankerous landlords, the inscrutable local women, the Irish judiciary, haunted seminaries, and cold winter nights selling flowers on the banks of the Liffey to make ends meet. His own personal demons travel with him, especially the clash between his sexual desires and his reluctance to become emotionally entangled with anyone other than his version of the ideal woman. In his year away from home Mutazz learns how diverse the world is, but returning to Cairo is a shock that tests his physical and mental strength. Only when he passes that test can he make a promising new start.