The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World

There are very few memoirs as deep and beautiful, as compassionate and tender, as this one of a young girl born to a loving, devout, but old world Jewish patriarch in the last decades of elegant Cairo in the 1950's. Shortly after all the Jews would flee and be scattered in exile: from an elegant, ordered life, they would face hunger and poverty first in Paris and then in New York where the father, now old and sick, would try to reestablish himself in a business and the children would find their own way in this strange new country. An extraordinary memoir. There are only a few I have read ever which come near it.

The Man in the White Sharkskin suite is a stunning work, in it's emotional depth against a period of history I knew little about. The author/narrator tells the story of her family, particularly her father, as they thrive in Egypt under King Farouk, then, literally overnight, lose their material possisions, family and promience but not their humanity and dignity when Nassar comes to power. Their 'before' life was vibrant and full materially, but emotionally fraught with tensions of all sort especially between the husband, Leon and the wife, Edith. The author uses the point of view of the youngest member of the family, Loulou who can barely understand what's happening but acts bravely for her father's sake and for his love. The author writes beautifully, and with such poignancy, but never with self pity or malicious anger regarding the family's fall. By the time the family arrives in America, they are completely lost as they stand on the dock watching the big cars go down the West Side Highway. The great symbol of American prosperity, yet the cars and the dream they represent pass the family by. They never regain the life they longed for, except in the success of Loulou who becomes an award winning journalist and now author. I feel that Leon would be thrilled that, against his advice to this daughter to find a 'little job', she found her calling and restored the family legacy and told the greater story, through the Lagnado saga, of the history of Egyptian Jews of that time. A wonderful read.

Lucette or Loulou wrote a very emotional, truthful, and touching book about her father, her family, and herself. Thanks to her sincerity we relived a disappearing period in the life of many Egyptians. I found myself shedding tears for this dignified man and his suffering and the love he had for a country that sadly does not exist anymore. I highly recommend this book for all those who left their homelands. I could not put it down until I finished it. Thank you Loulou.

I was at that reading also, and purchased another copy of the book (my third!) for my daughter. Lagnado's story of her family's incredible history in Egypt and then the heartbreaking exile they endured, ending in Brooklyn where her father, old and seemingly defeated, probably saves her life with one last almost magical invocation of his old powers of persuasion is inspiring and tragic at once. After reading this beautiful book, it's clear where Lagnado's passion as an investigative reporter to expose corruption and the indignities we too often heap upon the elderly was born.

Wow, this is an absolute must-read. It is foremost a family saga with an array of captivating characters... but it is also about an overlooked piece of history -- the flight of tens of thousands of Jews from Egypt in the 1950s and 1960s. From Cairo to Paris to Brooklyn... from riches to rags.... I loved this book. I heard the author speak at Barnes & Noble in New York last night and she told a story that was at once personal, moving and mesmerizing. After the reading, the line to buy her book extended around the block -- and I noticed that a lot of people were buying several copies.