Book Review: ‘Picture In The Sand: A Novel’ By Peter Blauner

Alex Hassan is part of a middle-class American/Egyptian family and has gotten into an Ivy League school. He has his whole future ahead of him. But he has become radicalized and soon takes off for Syria to join a holy war. He cuts off his family, except his Grandfather Ali. They communicate via e-mail, when Alex is able to. Ali is doing everything he can to convince him to give up this quest and return to his family. He tells him the story of his life and things he wasn’t pruud of, including an overthrown of the Egyptian government in the 50’s. Ali got a dream job working on The Ten Commandments, which was filming parts of the movie in Egypt. Ali gets caught up in plots that he didn’t want to be a part of, but was forced into it and soon it all blew up in his face. He tries to get Alex to listen to reason, as he relates his story, which also included jail time. Can he convince his grandson to come home before it’s too late? A great historical fiction novel, based on what was happening in Egypt in the 50’s. You will want to keep reading it once you start.

You can pick up Picture In The Sand in stores on Tuesday, January 3rd from Minotaur Books.