Wow, this book was a pleasant surprise. I did not go into this with the highest of expectations, the description of the book just seemed ehh to me. But I LOVED it. Blauner did an incredible job making this book interesting, informative and keeping the reader very engaged. The way it was written was done flawlessly. A grandfather writing letters about his past to his grandson. The love, the lessons and the element of surprise through the entire book were incredible. This book shows how important it is to share stories and history - because it can and will repeat itself. Some lessons we are better off learning from others!

Thank you netgalley and minatour books for my advanced reader copy!

Rarely do I find a book that I simply can not put down, yet Picture in the Sand by Peter Blauner quickly became that book.

Historical fictions are a favorite of mine, and what makes Picture in the Sand stand out is that it’s about 1950s Egypt.

Told in a sort of dual timeline where a grandfather (Ali Hassan) is corresponding with his newly radicalized grandson Alex, Picture in the Sand takes you on a wild rollercoaster ride that often makes you wonder which way is up.

The writing is fluid and the spacing is absolute perfection. Each email was crafted exactly how I’d expect Alex to sound and to show so much character growth in so few words showcased how powerful Blauner is as a writer.

The struggles of Ali, as a young man in a politically fragile Egypt and as a grandfather hoping to reach his grandson, felt raw, real and gritty.

Overall I loved this book and will be recommending it to everyone I know.

Thank you Minotaur Books & NetGalley for an ARC to review.

PICTURE IN THE SAND by Peter Blauner is an intriguing work of historical fiction. The novel alternates between 1954 Egypt and present day. The majority of the story is told by Ali Hassan, grandfather to Alex (call me Abu Suror) who has been radicalized and has left the States to be with his brothers in arms. Ali Hassan establishes tenuous contact with Alex via email and begins to relate his own life story: infatuation with films and a young wanna-be starlet, production assistant on The Ten Commandments movie, and involvement in religious and political dissent in Egypt. Featuring well-known people like Cecil B. DeMille and Gamal Abdel Nasser, Blauner provides an engrossing look at inflated egos, terrorist plots, and power struggles in Egypt from a time when, according to Blauner, "many historians say the rise of radical Islam, al-Qaeda and ISIS began." Although sometimes violent (readers are warned early on that a main character loses an eye), this is a suspenseful thriller combined with an excellent coming of age story. Ali Hassan writes to his grandson, "It's painful and deeply unsettling how much I recognize of myself in you. .... sometimes I think the old trying to talk to the young is like the dead talking to the living." Blauner is an Edgar Award winning author and his publishers describe his latest novel as "the culmination of two decades of writing and research that took him from Brooklyn to Cairo a half-dozen times." Hard work is evident: PICTURE IN THE SAND received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and prolific writer Stephen King said, "On rare occasions I read a book that reminds me of why I fell in love with storytelling in the first place. This is such a book."

I wanted to read this book because it was about Egypt. I was also nostalgic about the letter writing between the grandfather and grandson, although in today's world, the "letters" are sent via email.

The story ultimately is about intergenerational trauma and healing. I enjoyed what seems to be intensive research on Egypt. I would like to read more books by the author. I did want to learn more about the grandmother and the parents though they were not the main protagonists in the story.

I received a free copy from Net Galley.

Young American born Muslim Alex Hassan announces to his family that he will not be attending Cornell University but leaving for the Middle East to join the holy war. Alex’s only communication is through email with his Egyptian Muslim grandfather Ali Hassan. Through these emails Ali Hassan shares his youthful innocence, his hopes and dreams and the untold story of his life in Egypt in the 1950s during a time of political upheaval. There are difficult passages that guide the reader to an understanding of choices made, unlikely loyalties and relationships. The author does a great job of mixing actual events with fictional characters.

Alex, a young man from America becomes radicalized, and leaves home to join Muslim jihadists. His grandfather, in an attempt to maintain an email connection, promises to tell his own story of involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood, years ago in Egypt, a story no one in the family has heard. So the novel proceeds along two timelines, a modern one, and one set in 1956. Both involve violence, passionate belief, and a bit of redemption.

Rating 3.5

A radicalized grandson's life runs parallel to his grandfathers from the 1950's in Picture in the Sand. Alex has left everything he knows to join the fight in Syria, and only communicates with his grandfather via email. In an effort to get his grandson to return home, he shares a story he left unsaid about his youth.

During the 1950's, the movie The Ten Commandments was being filmed in Egypt, and a young Ali has aspirations to be director in Hollywood. He soon finds himself employed on set and embroiled in the web of politics in the country eventually landing himself in prison. His story is meant to prevent his grandson from making the same mistakes he made many years ago.

The nature of the correspondence between grandson and grandfather were heartbreaking. While highly researched, this story gives life to the development of modern terrorism. It showcases hope, faith and the fight for freedom from various points of view. This was truly an interesting story about the making of the movie, the turmoil in Egypt and how one pasts can effect the future.

Thank you Minotaur Books for the complimentary copy of this novel.

2.5 stars. Based on the reviews currently in existence for this book, I am going to be in the minority with my thoughts. I don't think there was anything truly "intergenerational" about this story, and I wouldn't call it a "saga" either. It is a glimpse into a very specific section of a man's life, with light involvement to that man's grandson, 60 years later. But first, a brief synopsis.

Ali Hassan is a young man in 1950s Egypt, living through a turbulent time in the political history of his country. Ali becomes involved, through his father, in the filming of a massive Hollywood film called The Ten Commandments. His radical cousin ropes him into a plot to destroy not only the film set, but innocent lives, and Ali must quickly decide what is most important to him. Some 60 years later, Ali's grandson Alex leaves the United States to become embroiled in a holy war with a terrorist group, and Ali's life story is the only thing that may save him from his dangerous idealism.

Alright. So. Good things. The writing is fluid and the pacing of the book is perfect. There is a lot of detail about certain aspects of scenery, namely the movie set and specific portions of the city of Cairo. I enjoyed the email snippets between Ali and Alex; I think that was a great way to tie together the two timelines.

Things I found less enjoyable. This book is written by a caucasian man from New York. He spent 20 years writing this book, traveling to Egypt six times, so I assume he did all he could to make it authentic. However, I don't think a caucasian will ever be able to write successfully from the perspective of an Egyptian man — not even a modern one who was born in America. I worry a bit that I may be thinking in a reverse discriminatory way, but to my mind, there's no way Peter Blauner could accurately capture the thoughts and motivations behind a young man of Middle Eastern descent deciding to join an Islamic holy war and aid in committing acts of terrorism. Aside from that, I dislike the story arc of Mona's character, the only woman in the book. Early in the story she is rather uninhibited with her manner of dress and action, but she devolves back to traditional Muslim dress and behavior as the book progresses, which feels like a giant step backwards for literally the only woman in this entire book.

In all, the story itself is enjoyable if you don't think too hard about it. Unfortunately, I couldn't get past my perceived negative aspects, though I do recommend forming your own opinions. It's partially my own fault for not looking into the author before requesting this title! Thank you to Minotaur Books, Peter Blauner, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I received a ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my review.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Picture in the Sand, and found it to be transporting as the author described various scenes in Egypt.

Picture in the Sand tells two stories on different timelines via emails exchanged by a grandfather and grandson. The grandfather tells of his experiences in Egypt as a young man working on Cecil B. DeMille’s Ten Commandments and getting caught up in political and ideological acts. The grandson does not share many details, but has left the US to join the jihad in the post-9-11 world. The grandson feels that his grandfather could not possibly understand what he’s going through, but as the grandfather shares more and more of his past, the two stories align in various ways.

I don’t think this is a book that will stick with me for long, but the evocative storytelling and sympathetic characters proved worthy of devoting several hours to. I do wonder about the historical events that played out in the grandfather’s timeline and may look into Egyptian history a bit further to better distinguish between truth and fiction.

A book you can lose yourself in is always a great find. I would recommend this book if you are considering it.

Picture in the Sand by Peter Blauner
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This is the story of a grandfather telling his life story to his grandson, in the hopes that it will keep him from making a mistake in his life and come home.
Ali lived in Egypt back in the 1950s, at the time that a big time movie director was filming the movie The Ten Commandments.
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This book was a lot better than I was expecting. I have never read a historical fiction set in Egypt before and it was fascinating. Ali was such a great guy who was kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. I was rooting for him the whole time and was seriously stressed out for him multiple times.
I loved the emails he was sending back and forth to his grandson too. Hearing his grandsons thoughts on Ali’s life story showed all the parallels to their lives and how much Ali loved his grandson.
The ending was fantastic and I liked the authors notes at the end too about how his story compared to real history. There was one point while reading the book that I put it down and was googling real life in that time period.
4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Excellent! If you enjoy Historical Fiction but are tired of the same old HF time periods and places, then this book is definitely for you.
Pub Date 1/3/23

It’s been a long time since I read a great story saga. Pictures in the Sand by Peter Blauner is such a tale. Spanning generations, this story entwines you in the lives of Alex and his grandfather, Ali. Ali tells the story through letters to his grandson who ran off to join the modern holy war. Ali tells his grandson of a young man who was enthralled with movies, a man who ends up in prison and lost an eye and an old ailing man that never told anyone the story until now. The story is filled with family, loyalty and war.

Ali, in love with movies, gets a job with Celil B. DeMille while he is in Egypt making the movie The Ten Commandments. The Muslim Brotherhood targets the production, Ali finds himself in the middle and ends up in prison for 17 years.

ALi is telling this story in order to save his grandson from the same fate. Does fate repeat or does Ali reach Alex in time. The back and forth letter writing makes this book a great, great story.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillian publishing for the chance to read this book.

Family saga, generations historical fiction

Picture in the Sand is an interesting work that shines the light on a little discussed period in history, the Egyptian and Israeli conflict. Ali’s grandson, Alex, has disappeared and has not communicated with anyone. In a last ditch effort to reach him, Ali reaches out and promises to share the story and secrets of his life if alex responds. The letters between grandson and grandfather serve as a framing device to the events in Ali’s past in the early 1950s. Ali is involved in the political unrest in Egypt and gets involved with the Muslim brotherhood, a group of radicalized men who plot to bring down the government. At the center is the shooting of the film, the 10 commandments, which, according to the authors note, was filmed in the midst of all the upheaval. While the story reads as an adventure and a spy/espionage novel, it’a a more nuanced look at governments, rebellion, unrest, love, and family, Ali and Alex take parallel journeys through their involvement with the radical group and face tests along the way of their loyalty to their country, their mission, and themselves. The book is a fast paced read-which may actually work against it as there are more layers and historical details and context that I may have missed because it was so easy to read. I admit I was more interested in the letters between the two, as they do have a context in modern day events and were easier to relate. However, kudos to the author for shining light on this period in history and doing it in a compelling manner. I enjoyed learning about this and I recommend reading the authors note at the end of the novel to gain more context!

“Picture In The Sand” is a book I couldn’t put down. It gives an intimate look into the hearts and minds of two generations of Egyptian Americans, and how small choices can change the path they must follow in order to find themselves.
This novel shines a light on the turmoil of civil unrest, the ravages of war, unstable government and its affect on the lives of real people trying to live their lives.
Alex finds common ground in his grandfather’s story of family, loyalty, and ideology as he faces similar circumstances.
This novel is well written and the experiences of the characters brought me to tears.
I recommend this book.

Picture In The Sand is a very fitting title for this book. It’s a historical fictionalization based on the making of renowned Cecil B DeMille film “The Ten Commandments”. It was far outside my usual genre and I admit it was a struggle to read, which does not imply it isn’t a compelling story. I wasn’t old enough to know anything about this piece of movie making history when movies were filmed at the actual location, not another continent, no computer generated scenes or photo shopped faces. The historical note at the end explained some of the political unrest of the early fifties is integral to the plot, wish I’d read it first.
The story is related through letters emailed between a grandpa and his radicalized grandson, Alex. Alex has been recruited and joined a group in Syria. His Grandpa lived through unspeakable turmoil and tells his stories and experiences of those events in Egypt.
There are quite a few diverse characters from Grandpa’s life. Alex doesn’t know any of the personal history his Grandpa is sharing and their beliefs and ideology are both polar opposites and convergent. It is thoughtful, introspective, sometimes violently gut wrenching, not for those opposed to detailed descriptions of vivid sadistic inhumane brutality. It’s a story within a story, the making of the film and one young boy’s fascination with going to Hollywood.
In summary it left me wondering at what cost to the people of that country. Did anyone other than the studio and crooked politicians benefit because the film was set in their country?
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy of “Picture In The Sand” by Peter Blauner and to St. Martin’s Publishing. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

This is the tale of finding oneself amidst the darkest of circumstances. It’s a story within a story that really becomes the story. In a post 9/11 world, a young man strikes out to return to his roots and goes into a Jihadist world to do so, leaving home and his family behind. I’m doing so, the young man only communicates with his grandfather via email, and his grandfather tells the story of his own attempts to find himself and the consequences of those actions. It’s a unique way to write this particular story. Thanks to NetGalley for the early read.

This sweeping, enjoyable epic by Peter Blauner isn’t really a mystery, though it has a crime at its center. Like the Mrs. Pollifax books (which also treasure and honor different cultures), this is an adventure novel, containing a crime. The premise is this: young Alex, the pride of his Egyptian-American family, accepted into an Ivy League university, had disappeared. It becomes obvious to his family that he’s joined some kind of radical group somewhere in the Middle East. He refuses to communicate with his parents, but then his grandfather, Ali, reaches out to him and it’s this connection that Alex chooses to pursue.

With the severe judgement of the young, Alex is sure his grandfather, a New Jersey gas station owner, has nothing interesting to relate in his past, but he agrees to listen to Ali’s remembrances of his life. The book is mainly set in 1952, with the correspondence between Alex and Ali functioning as a framing device. As it turns out, Alex couldn’t have been more wrong. As the book opens, Ali, a huge fan of the movies, has gotten a job as a driver on Cecil B. DeMille’s new film, The Ten Commandments. As DeMille arrives in Egypt, the agreement originally made with King Farouk has been nullified by the new government, and DeMille must make his case to Nasser, a man not yet President of an Egypt free from British rule, but about to be.

As Ali drives DeMille and his associates to meet with Nasser, they are caught up in a street protest, and their car is almost flipped over. It’s a red car that had belonged to King Farouk, and in leaving, they run over a man. The men in the car agree never to discuss it and Nassar gives the men permission to film. Blauner’s recreation of the massive set is one of the true delights of this book, making me want to have another viewing of what is a very corny movie. But this book is only tangentially about filmmaking, it’s really about Egyptian politics, and I was consulting Wikipedia with frequency as I read, as my knowledge of Egyptian history was sketchy at best and I had no idea DeMille made his movie at such a time of upheaval.

During the course of filming, Ali is radicalized, though he’s torn not only by his love for the movies, but by his attraction to a woman who is part of the movie company, as well as by his love for his family. As Alex reads his grandfather’s messages, he goes from enraged – the fact that Ali ran over a man, who turned out to have been a well-loved Imam – to disdain for his grandfather’s love of the movies. Alex views DeMille as someone who was appropriating Egyptian culture for his own purposes.

This book, however, is all about nuance. While Ali becomes involved with the Muslim Brotherhood, mainly because of his cousin, the extreme radical actions that are sometimes taken don’t sit so well with him. Alex, in a different yet similar situation, begins to feel the same as actions are taken that don’t sit well with him, either. Blauner paints a portrait of an Egypt in the middle of change, as well as the ways that ordinary men and women are swept up in that change, in ways that are completely life altering. You may come out of this read with a more nuanced view of the Middle East yourself, but you will certainly emerge from this read with a real love for Ali, who is brave, human, scared, loyal, and intelligent as well as massively stupid at times. He’s a wonderful tentpole for this epic read, making it understandable and relatable. That’s certainly a virtue of storytelling, one that’s discovered, in the course of this novel, by Alex. This was a wonderful read.

Wow! This book was incredible. Not only did it bring me back in time to a tumultuous time in Egypt, but was well-written and intriguing. I didn’t know how it was going to end or where the story was leading me, which is always fun. A unique story with lots of meaning and lessons to be learned from it.

The book touches upon an array of issues, but at the heart of it, it’s about family, legacy, and love. I also enjoyed the format (Ali’s story followed by emails from his grandson). Despite, going back and forth between past and present day, it wasn’t overly complicated and flowed well.

The only reason I can think that I requested Picture in the Sand is that peripherally, it deals with the making of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments film. Because the book is unlike most everything else I read, but I found it pulling me in right away and was one of those can’t-put-down kind of books. I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from NetGalley and Minotaur/St. Martin Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The historical novel set mostly in Egypt during the early 1950s, just as Gamal Abdel Nasser is coming to power, following the collapse of the monarchy and revolution in the late 1940’s. At the core of the story is the clash of Western and Islamic cultures that both involves the reader in Egypt’s past and enlightens us with modern-day issues at the same time.

I can’t begin to describe how this book sucked me in from the start and kept me on the edge of my seat. The story the grandfather writes to his grandson is so compelling, it’s hard to break away from the book. There was the definite feeling of the grandpa trying to reach his grandson before he makes the same mistakes he made. The grandson’s letters to his grandfather show just how easy it is to fall prey to politics and radical thinking. The extremist views of the grandson are worrying not only to the grandfather but to the reader as well.

The torture scenes in prison were hard to read, but nevertheless I found them necessary to drive home the position the grandfather was in. I did find myself skimming them in parts. It’s easy to see how being swayed by a relative or close friend can have lasting effects for the rest of your life. Yet as the grandfather tells his story, you can feel the remorse drip off the page.

The involvement of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments production was interesting, and I was happy to read the postscript which took the time to tell the reader which parts of the story were real and which were the author’s imagination.

Highly recommend this book!

Wonderful story. I could feel the strong pull between the main character (the grandfather) wanting to get through to his grandson, who has chosen to leave the US and join ISIS. Includes a great deal of history of Egypt and the surrounding area that I had never known. Very interesting and informative. A loving tale that was compelling. Highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur books for the opportunity to read an early edition.

Touching letter from a grandfather to a grandson. So often every generation assumes a lot about the other. This is just a story from one two the other, but it is moving and timely. You really feel the earnestness with which this family wants to connect and protect.