Where the Library Hides

The novel continues the previous book («What the River Knows») and begins in Cairo at the start of 1885. The opening scene is the conversation between Inez Olivera and Whitford Hayes (Whit) in a room of Shepheard's Hotel: Whit says «marry me instead» and Inez asks whether he is serious, because Whit has been drinking. Inez begins packing her suitcase, and Whit turns the suitcase over and tips the things onto the bed. The scene is both romantic and comic: Inez's fear and proud answer, and Whit's reddening face set the tone of the heroes' relationship.

Inez's thoughts make it clear that the proposal is not only a matter of love. In the life she led in Buenos Aires she would have married a «caballero» chosen by her aunt and never come to Egypt. Her cousin Elvira was shot dead before her eyes, her mother Lourdes is a traitor and her father Cayo is missing; the words «never stop looking for me» do not leave her. Marriage would give her access to her fortune and independence from her uncle; moreover she admits for the first time that she is in love with Whit. The novel presents this double motive very readably.

In chapter one Inez keeps Whit waiting for twelve hours, and her uncle Ricardo, with his arm in a sling, tries to «exile» her with a train ticket to Alexandria and a ship ticket to Buenos Aires. The scarf from her mother, which shrinks objects, ties her to her mother; the heroine has kept it instead of burning it. The breakfast scene with her uncle is warm and humorous: Ricardo whines about food and ignores the doctor. Whit knows well that he is promised to someone else and obliged to it; nevertheless he proposes again: «For the first time in my life I am choosing for myself».

Whit states the plan simply: a priest, a permit, a church and a witness are needed; to marry within three days the British consulate must be notified. Inez says «you have thought about these a lot». Although the characters are sure of each other in the conversation, neither speaks openly: he does not say «I admire you», she does not say «I love you». This tone is the main strength and weakness of the novel — everything is left unsaid and the reader waits in suspense.

The style is light, dialogue-driven and ironic. Each chapter is written through one hero's eyes (Inez, then Whit), which gives the reader two views. The historical setting (Cairo, Shepheard's Hotel, British control, the churches) is colourful but in this part more of a backdrop. A reader who has not read the series' first book may be puzzled in some lines (Elvira, the ceremony in the tomb, the conflict with the mother).

• The voice of the heroine Inez is ironic, angry and pleasing, the dialogues are humorous
• The historical setting (Shepheard's Hotel, Cairo, British control) creates an interesting background
• Chapters told by the two heroes in turn give the reader two views
• The equal relationship, mutual respect and humour of the two heroes keep the romantic line alive