Anchoring the story is a pair of Cairo-born sisters whose fates spin in radically different directions in the wake of the Egyptian revolution. "A Pure Heart is poised, intelligent, very grown-up writing, equally at home in all its environments." –Donna Meredith (The Southern Literary Review) It is also a fervent illustration of the strength and beauty of familial bonds, ties that persist even after death.” Yet the story is not simply an examination of problems. Her background leaves her particularly well situated to develop these themes … brilliantly illuminates the complications of our world: the clash of religious beliefs, the uneven division of wealth, our classist snobbery, the failure of our best intentions. “Hassib’s novel shines as one of the finest explorations of identity, religion, and culture in modern American literature. Noor Brara, The New York Times Book Review In so doing she exposes mankind’s best and worst qualities, our universalities and differences, illuminating all the while the myriad ways in which a heart can be pure.” "In A Pure Heart, Hassib, herself an Egyptian immigrant living in West Virginia, articulates the full-bodied chorus of Egypt’s voices-even that of Saaber, the 21-year-old extremist bomber who is afforded a few of his own impassioned, nuanced asides as he struggles to interpret God’s intention for him-dismantling stereotypes of her country and culture. Hassib is a perceptive writer with a real understanding of how people act-not how they ought to act-and A Pure Heart is a novel that's as honest as it is engrossing." Hassib doesn't settle for easy answers she understands that scars never completely heal. Hassib displays a keen understanding of how the relationships between spouses, siblings, and parents and children play out during times of stress. Hassib structures it beautifully-while there's real suspense in the book, it's not at the expense of the characters, who are each given ample space to tell their own stories, reveal their own motivations. "A lovely novel about the bonds of family and how religion can bring people together as well as tear them apart. And that’s the artistry of this novel: Each of the characters, in turn, is at the center and each one, in a flawed and human way, is in pursuit of their own version of purity of heart." 'Very few people can see the whole story when they are at its center,' Mark acutely observes. “ A Pure Heart is a timely, sweeping tale that examines the intersection of fate and choice, the pull of culture and identity, family and love.
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