The Girls From Alexandria by Carol Cooper

Synopsis
Nadia needs help. Help getting out of her hospital bed. Help taking her pills. One thing she doesn’t need help with is remembering her sister. But she does need help finding her.

Alone and abandoned in a London hospital, 70-year-old Nadia is facing the rest of her life spent in a care home unless she can contact her sister Simone… who’s been missing for 50 years.

Despite being told she’s ‘confused’ and not quite understanding how wi-fi works, Nadia is determined to find Simone. So with only cryptic postcards and her own jumbled memories to go on, Nadia must race against her own fading faculties and find her sister before she herself is forgotten.

Set against the lush and glamorous backdrop of 20th century Alexandria, Carol Cooper’s third novel is equal parts contemporary mystery and historical fiction: a re-coming of age story about family, identity, and homeland.

Review
The Girls From Alexandria is a book about the special relationships between sisters and a coming of age story that takes the reader from the heat of exotic Egypt to London and covers over fifty years of history. In the present day Nadia finds herself in hospital with a head injury so has no recollection of how or how she did it. She finds herself needing help to walk and to remember things, and is frightened of being sent to a care home. She seems to have no family, but she talks of her sister, Simone, who disappeared fifty years ago. Nadia with the help of a friendly nurse decides to try and find her sister again, through postcards Simone sent and the internet. As fragmented memories start to come together Nadia has to face what happened in her past and find out why her sister just up and left, before it is too late.

The Girls From Alexandria is a beautiful read, that combines historical fiction, mystery and fictional memoir. Nadia is a wonderful central character with a fascinating past, who finds herself alone and frightened in hospital. Her vulnerability to her current situation makes her think of her sister, and her childhood in Alexandria. I loved reading about Nadia and Simone’s childhood in the glamerous and multi-cultural Alexandria, their observations of the many other colourful characters, and the perils of growing up. What shone through was their closeness, looking out for each other, which is why Simone’s absebce effected Nadia so much. Carol Cooper brialliantly captured how hospital can be unsettling for the elderly, they are no longer in charge of their own lives, decisions by social care are made for them leaving them feeling invisible and no longer in control of their own lives.

I have had a life long fascination with Alexandria, mainly from a more classical perspective with its famed lighthouse, library and being a centre of learning, it is even my daugter’s middle name. The Alexandria in this book is multi cultural, exotic and full of life. The book covers about sixty years from the 1950’s to 2010, a time where Alexandria changed beyond recognition. Over these years there was the Suez War, the end of a monarchy to a republic,the assasination of a president, and political corruption. Carol Cooper brings this city to life, the sights, smells, the many different languages spoken, and the sizziling heat as well as the many memorable family and friends of Nadia and her family. I was fascinated and surprised that at this time many women had plastic surgery, including gynaecological reconstruction. This was a city for the rich and glamerous where money could buy you just about anything. I love a book with a dual timeline, I find that the changing plot really keeps my interest and Carol Cooper did this brilliantly, moving backwards and forwards, dripping bits of information about Simone and why she left, the contrasting life between Alexandria and London, not only geographical and meteorically, but also in relation to race. There are many difficult issues raise in this book and Carol Cooper deals with these empathetically and with great understanding.

The Girls From Alexandria ticked so many boxes for me, the mix of historical and contemporary fiction, colourful locations, and a familial mystery. Nadia was such a fascinating character, she lived such a full life and Carol Cooper really captures her growth from girl to woman, the challenged she experienced in her marriage and her vulnerability of old age, where she is no longer able to make her own decisions. I loved the setting of Alexandria, especially in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the cosmopolitan citizens, the social and cultural history and the many stunning locations, especially the beaches. Bautifully written, this is an exceptional read.

I would like to thank Agora Books for my copy of this book in return for my honest review.