Out of Egypt

This richly colored memoir chronicles the exploits of a flamboyant Jewish family, from its bold arrival in cosmopolitan Alexandria to its defeated exodus three generations later. In elegant and witty prose, André Aciman introduces us to the marvelous eccentrics who shaped his life--Uncle Vili, the strutting daredevil, soldier, salesman, and spy; the two grandmothers, the Princess and the Saint, who gossip in six languages; Aunt Flora, the German refugee who warns that Jews lose everything "at least twice in their lives." And through it all, we come to know a boy who, even as he longs for a wider world, does not want to be led, forever, out of Egypt.

Aceasta memorie bogat colorata cronicizeaza exploatarile unei familii evreiesti extravagante, de la sosirea indrazneata in Alexandria cosmopolita pana la exodul invins, trei generatii mai tarziu. Intr-o proza eleganta si plina de intelepciune, André Aciman ne face cunostinta cu minunatii excentrici care i-au modelat viata - unchiul Vili, temerarul, soldatul, vanzatorul si spionul; cele doua bunici, Printesa si Sfantul, care barfesc in sase limbi; Matusa Flora, refugiatul german care avertizeaza ca evreii pierd totul „cel putin de doua ori in viata lor”. Si prin toate acestea, ajungem sa cunoastem un baiat care, chiar daca tanjeste dupa o lume mai larga, nu vrea sa fie condus, pentru totdeauna, din Egipt.