<3 Jon Courtenay Grimwood
I'm going to start with a quote, because if Grimwood's writing isn't going to convince you than I shouldn't be trying. “The fox didn't like the paintings. But then, the fox was a purist and had problems with Orientalist kitsch. And the fact that the fox was invisible to everyone but ZeeZee didn't make it any less real. Though it wasn't real, of course, not in the way the yellow cabs lurching along Rue Missala were real. ZeeZee had come up with a number of explanations for its existence. The fox's favourite was that it was an autonomous construct of unprocessed dark memory” (12 Pashazade).
I talk, occasionally, about Jon Courtenay Grimwood, and specifically about his Arabesk series. But when I do, most of what I say is about this coherent: “snarky hallucinatory fox” or “alternate universe Ottoman empire science fiction”. Both of these are true, but probably don't explain why I love the series. I'm going to talk mostly about Pashazade, because it's the first book.
Basic plot line: Raf arrives in El Iskandriyah after being released from a prison in Seattle under diplomatic pressure. His newly discovered (for him at least) Aunt Nafisa is murdered some point after his arrival is Isk, and Raf is seen as a suspect.
Pashazade takes place in an Alexandria where Wilson brokered an early peace to World War I, so that it never expanded out of the Balkans. World War II never happened. Israel doesn't exist. The Ottoman Empire does. Russia is divided and the US is isolationist. Monarchy is the default form of government in Europe. Islam is more Sufist than it is in our universe.
But the thing is, Pashazade is a murder mystery. A vaguely science fiction murder mystery, but still. And I've seen criticism that Grimwood didn't have to change the universe to tell that kind of story. Maybe that's true, but in order to tell the story that he wound up telling the setting needed to be El Iskandriyah (Alexandria) in this universe. Setting and culture are an intrinsic part of the book, and they are woven so beautifully with the characters and the plot. This story simply wouldn't work in any other setting.
The main character of Pashazade is Ashraf al-Mansur, also known as ZeeZee in flashback-land. Raf is one of those characters who might not have a clue what's going on, but he'll never admit it. He's also the one who hallucinates a fox that talks to him and sometimes gives advice. Raf's the one who doesn't particularly fit in El Iskandriyah, but he doesn't let that bother him much. He also strongly believes in doing what he thinks is right, even when other people or the culture he's immersed in disagree.
Which brings us to Zara. Zara's wonderful and wilful and in an arranged marriage with Raf, which leaves him feeling pretty conflicted. (Because on the one hand, he quite likes her. On the other hand, she doesn't really care much for him. And she's smart, but sometimes she rebels in the stupidest way possible.)
"No rights?" Raf's voice was gentle. "Why not?"
"Tradition," said Zara bitterly. She stood up from the table. "You see Dad's case over there?" The briefcase was Calvin Klein, black crocodile skin. "That contains ten per cent of my dowry. You get a further fifty per cent when we marry, minus whatever your aunt's already had for expenses. The remainder you don't get for twelve months."
From the surprise on Raf's face it was obvious he hadn't known money was involved at all. "Twelve months ... ?"
"Apparently that's meant to stop you beating me." Zara stepped away from the bench. "Well, for the first year, at least ..." She turned to her father. "I'm sorry. I need to get some air."
Now Hani. Hani is Raf's young niece, and he's left in charge of her when Aunt Nafisa dies. Hani's awesome.
"Stupid that is," the sudden voice behind ZeeZee was cutting in its contempt. "Clicking your heels. No one really behaves like that in Iskandryia. I knew you'd be stupid."
"Hana."
"Hani," corrected the girl.
Lady Nafisa sighed.
"Anyway, Hani what?" the child asked angrily, walking into the light. She had oil smeared across the palms of both her hands and bare ankles from where she'd slid down an elevator cable.
And now, since you've been patient and listened to me, you get another quote about the fox. “He just wished he could remember at what point the fox had disappeared. He was pretty sure it had been there right up to the point they hit Immigration. And ZeeZee always hated it when the fox went invisible on him. It was like suddenly not being able to see in the dark” (Pashazade 15).
I talk, occasionally, about Jon Courtenay Grimwood, and specifically about his Arabesk series. But when I do, most of what I say is about this coherent: “snarky hallucinatory fox” or “alternate universe Ottoman empire science fiction”. Both of these are true, but probably don't explain why I love the series. I'm going to talk mostly about Pashazade, because it's the first book.
Basic plot line: Raf arrives in El Iskandriyah after being released from a prison in Seattle under diplomatic pressure. His newly discovered (for him at least) Aunt Nafisa is murdered some point after his arrival is Isk, and Raf is seen as a suspect.
Pashazade takes place in an Alexandria where Wilson brokered an early peace to World War I, so that it never expanded out of the Balkans. World War II never happened. Israel doesn't exist. The Ottoman Empire does. Russia is divided and the US is isolationist. Monarchy is the default form of government in Europe. Islam is more Sufist than it is in our universe.
But the thing is, Pashazade is a murder mystery. A vaguely science fiction murder mystery, but still. And I've seen criticism that Grimwood didn't have to change the universe to tell that kind of story. Maybe that's true, but in order to tell the story that he wound up telling the setting needed to be El Iskandriyah (Alexandria) in this universe. Setting and culture are an intrinsic part of the book, and they are woven so beautifully with the characters and the plot. This story simply wouldn't work in any other setting.
The main character of Pashazade is Ashraf al-Mansur, also known as ZeeZee in flashback-land. Raf is one of those characters who might not have a clue what's going on, but he'll never admit it. He's also the one who hallucinates a fox that talks to him and sometimes gives advice. Raf's the one who doesn't particularly fit in El Iskandriyah, but he doesn't let that bother him much. He also strongly believes in doing what he thinks is right, even when other people or the culture he's immersed in disagree.
Which brings us to Zara. Zara's wonderful and wilful and in an arranged marriage with Raf, which leaves him feeling pretty conflicted. (Because on the one hand, he quite likes her. On the other hand, she doesn't really care much for him. And she's smart, but sometimes she rebels in the stupidest way possible.)
"No rights?" Raf's voice was gentle. "Why not?"
"Tradition," said Zara bitterly. She stood up from the table. "You see Dad's case over there?" The briefcase was Calvin Klein, black crocodile skin. "That contains ten per cent of my dowry. You get a further fifty per cent when we marry, minus whatever your aunt's already had for expenses. The remainder you don't get for twelve months."
From the surprise on Raf's face it was obvious he hadn't known money was involved at all. "Twelve months ... ?"
"Apparently that's meant to stop you beating me." Zara stepped away from the bench. "Well, for the first year, at least ..." She turned to her father. "I'm sorry. I need to get some air."
Now Hani. Hani is Raf's young niece, and he's left in charge of her when Aunt Nafisa dies. Hani's awesome.
"Stupid that is," the sudden voice behind ZeeZee was cutting in its contempt. "Clicking your heels. No one really behaves like that in Iskandryia. I knew you'd be stupid."
"Hana."
"Hani," corrected the girl.
Lady Nafisa sighed.
"Anyway, Hani what?" the child asked angrily, walking into the light. She had oil smeared across the palms of both her hands and bare ankles from where she'd slid down an elevator cable.
And now, since you've been patient and listened to me, you get another quote about the fox. “He just wished he could remember at what point the fox had disappeared. He was pretty sure it had been there right up to the point they hit Immigration. And ZeeZee always hated it when the fox went invisible on him. It was like suddenly not being able to see in the dark” (Pashazade 15).