About the Book, Shahrazad’s Gift 
- Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Linked Short Stories / Humor
- Publisher: Cune Press
- Date of Publication: February 20, 2024
- Number of Pages: 198 pages
- Scroll down for Giveaway!
Shahrazad’s Gift is a collection of linked short stories set in contemporary Cairo—magical, absurd and humorous. The author focuses on the off-beat, little-known stories, far from CNN news: a Swedish belly dancer who taps into the Oriental fantasies of her clientele; a Japanese woman studying Arabic, driven mad by the noise and chaos of the city; a frustrated Egyptian housewife who becomes obsessed by the activities of her Western gay neighbor; an American journalist who covered the civil war in Beirut who finds friendship with her Egyptian dentist. We also meet the two protagonists of McCullough’s Confessions of a Knight Errant, before their escapades in that story.
These stories are told in the tradition of A Thousand and One Nights.
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About the Author, Gretchen McCullough 
Gretchen McCullough was raised in Harlingen Texas. After graduating from Brown University in 1984, she taught in Egypt, Turkey, and Japan. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and was awarded a teaching Fulbright to Syria from 1997-1999. Her stories, essays and reviews have appeared in The Barcelona Review, Archipelago, National Public Radio, Story South, Guernica, The Common, The Millions, and the LA Review of Books. Translations in English and Arabic have been published in: Nizwa, Banipal, Brooklyn Rail in Translation, World Literature Today and Washington Square Review with Mohamed Metwalli. Her bi-lingual book of short stories in English and Arabic, Three Stories From Cairo, translated with Mohamed Metwalli, was published in July 2011 by AFAQ Publishing House, Cairo. A collection of short stories about expatriate life in Cairo, Shahrazad’s Tooth, was also published by AFAQ in 2013. Currently, she is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Rhetoric and Composition at the American University in Cairo.
Connect with Gretchen:
Website | Goodreads | American University Faculty Webpage
My Thoughts 
This book is a collection of short stories set in Cairo. While there is some intersection of the characters, for the most part, each story stands alone.
In these different narratives, author Gretchen McCullough has given us a glimpse of the city from the perspectives of American, British, and Japanese ex-pats and locals alike. Each story shows the struggles of cultural differences while also delving into the individual struggles of the characters. Queenie is a costume designer with a rocky past. Joe is terminally ill. Keiko is certain she is hearing noises from the empty flat upstairs. Hoda is obsessed with her neighbor and his sexual escapades, using voyeurism as an escape from a depressing and distressing marriage and family.
A couple of the stories very specifically referenced the events of September 11, 2001 and how the mostly American ex-pats living in Egypt reacted – some became paranoid, others became news junkies. Similarly represented were responses to the protests in that county several years later.
Every story features dimensional, well-drawn characters, all of whom are supremely human and flawed. Author McCullough is a deft hand with description but also excelled with dialogue, making the background and history of each character very clear.
While I appreciated this collection of stories for it’s homage to A Thousand and One Nights and the incredible craft of the author, it was a challenging read for me because I found so many of the characters unlikeable that I just couldn’t relate to their stories very well. Still, good writing provokes a reaction, even if that reaction is to hope you never, ever, meet any of these people in real life.
Of all the stories, the one I found most fascinating was “The Charm” which depicts the deterioration of Dr. Sheri as seen by her cleaning woman, Zeinab. It’s a gradual spiraling out of control and a fantastic portrait of anxiety, paranoia, and other mental illness.
I also really appreciated “Tiger” about an American visiting “the Pyramids” after losing their job as a teaching assistant in Mississippi.
Overall, Shahrazad’s Gift is a collection of candid portrayals and gritty situations as well as an exploration of what it is to be “other.”
Goes well with: mint tea and honey cakes.
Giveaway
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THREE WINNERS:
Two winners receive paperbacks
One winner receives the eBook of Shahrazad’s Gift
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 4/12/24)
Visit the Other Great Blogs on This Tour
Click to visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page for this book with direct links to each post on this tour, updated daily, or visit each blog directly.
| 04/02/24 | Rox Burkey Blog | Excerpt |
| 04/02/24 | Hall Ways Blog | Notable Quotables |
| 04/03/24 | StoreyBook Reviews | Guest Post |
| 04/03/24 | LSBBT Blog | BONUS Stop |
| 04/04/24 | Boys’ Mom Reads | Review |
| 04/05/24 | Bibliotica | Review |
| 04/06/24 | Rebecca R. Cahill, Author | Author Interview |
| 04/07/24 | The Page Unbound | Review |
| 04/08/24 | The Plain-Spoken Pen | Review |
| 04/09/24 | It’s Not All Gravy | Excerpt |
| 04/10/24 | Carpe Diem Chronicles | Review |
| 04/11/24 | The Real World According to Sam | Review |
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“Good writing provokes a reaction.” Exactly! Sometimes reading about characters we don’t love makes us think and ponder in new ways. Never a bad thing. Thanks for a fab review!
Terrific review. Thanks for pointing out that we don’t have to like a character, or a storyline, but can still appreciate fine writing. There is certainly plenty of that in this collection of stories.
Nice comment. I was attracted to flamboyant and wacky more than likeable!
Thanks, Melissa. So many characters, so many stories. Many of these stories were inspired by real life character in Cairo.