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A heartbreaking tale of impossible love in late-twentieth century Egypt.
Cairo, 1980s. Tarek’s whole life is laid out for him. A doctor like his father, he has taken over the family medical practice, married his childhood sweetheart and is well respected in society.
When he opens a clinic in a disadvantaged area of the city, he meets Ali, a young man who is free from the societal pressures that govern Tarek’s life. This chance encounter will change everything, throwing Tarek’s marriage, career and his entire existence into question.
From bustling Cairo to the harsh winters of Montréal, from the reign of Nasser to the dawn of a new century, Tarek wanders and reminisces.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, someone is compiling the chapters of his story . . .
Author: Eric Chacour
Paperback Published November 2024 256 pages
Read and Recommended by Graeme:
"This debut novel has won numerous prizes in its French language edition, and now that it has been translated into English, Australian readers can discover this book’s affecting power. Éric Chacour expertly manoeuvres his plot through several surprising turns, none of which this reviewer will reveal, as it would spoil the story. But even from the first chapters a mystery unfolds - who is narrating this story? - and this is only revealed after nearly 150 pages. What I Know About You is a love story, and one that is unexpected but which becomes all-consuming. Tarek, a respected married doctor, becomes infatuated with Ali, the nineteen-year old son of a terminally ill patient he is treating. The story unfolds in Cairo which makes for a fascinating backdrop as dramatic events play out, such as the Six-Day War and the assassination of Anwar Sadat. But the complexities of the changing Egyptian society from the 1960s onward are also of enormous interest, and the fact that the two men are from completely different classes. Tarek is from a privileged family of wealth, while Ali scrapes by in Mokattam, a neighbourhood of slums and shanties, where Tarek operates a charity medical clinic. However, keeping their relationship discrete proves challenging, speculation abounds, and violence threatens to erupt. Éric Chacour has done a truly masterful job in plotting this novel and it makes for a truly affecting reading experience that will likely move some readers to tears. The book is somewhat reminiscent of Philippe Besson’s Lie with Me - another intense love affair between men, the corrosive secrecy of the closet, and wasted chances."
"A mesmerizing and achingly beautiful novel that will linger in your memory indefinitely" - Jon Ransom, author ofThe Whale Tattoo