Years ago, I read "Sacred Trash: the lost and found world of the Cairo Geniza", by Adina Hoffman and Peter Cole. That led me to "The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels", by Janet Soskice, about two Scots Presbyterian "learned ladies" who assisted Solomon Schecnter in acquiring documents from the Geniza for Cambridge University.

Lukas' book is a work of fiction, moving between the story of the first watchman of the Ibn Ezra synagogue, a young Muslim orphan boy, set in the 11th-century; that of the discoveries at the Geniza in the late 19th-century; and that of an present-day American graduate student, son of an Egyptian Jewish mother and an Egyptian Muslim father, a descendant of the family that for centuries served as watchmen at the synagogue.

Lukas does a lovely job of describing Cairo in these three vastly different periods.

Historical fiction about Joseph al-Raqb, an American graduate student of Egyptian descent, who travels to Cairo in the year 2000 in a quest to solve the mystery of a package sent to him after his father’s death. Two other timelines are covered. The first is set in the 11th century and follows Ali ibn al-Marwani, a Muslim orphan, as he is invited by the Jewish council members to become the first night watchman over the Ibn Ezra Synagogue in Cairo. The second involves English twins, Agnes Lewis and Margaret Gibson, as they arrive in Cairo in 1897 to acquire ancient scrolls stored in the same synagogue. The common thread in the three stories is the legendary Ezra scroll, presumed to be the most perfect Torah scroll ever written and rumored to have been stored in the synagogue.

This premise is intriguing, but it falls down a bit in the execution. On the plus side, the descriptions of both ancient and modern Cairo are evocative. The author succeeds in bringing three eras in history to life. The author’s message of hope with respect to building relationships and understanding among cultures and religions of the world is positive and uplifting, as is the emphasis on forgiveness. On the minus side, the book’s structure feels very fragmented. The most interesting of the three storylines, to me, is the ancient story of Ali, but it is not examined in any depth and soon becomes a mundane love story. The twin sisters are agents of imperialism but are represented as heroines. Joseph seems to be on a quest for self-discovery and healing, but he never succeeds in achieving any type of satisfactory resolution.

I liked this book and recommend it as a learning experience regarding history of Cairo. The author clarifies which portions are based on fact. Just be aware that it has an unfinished quality and leaves many open questions for the reader to interpret. If we could award half-stars, I'd give it 3.5.
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The Last Watchman of Old Cairo follows three linked story lines: Ali, a Muslim youth in perhaps 1200 AD; twin sisters in 1872 who are eager to get their hands on the surviving documents of an historic synagogue's genizi; and Joseph (or Yusef), a young gay man born to a Jewish mother and Muslim father. These documents--and the synagogue--are important to each of them for different, but related reasons. "a thousand years of love letters and prayer books, business contracts, deeds, and the occasional shopping list, all muddled together in a great heap of possible divinity."Lukas explores themes of identity in multiple ways, giving us vivid pictures of Cairo then and now. I was intrigued to learn afterwards that the sisters are based on historical figures, under-appreciated for their contributions to archaeology and preserving Arabic and Syriac manuscripts. You may well have heard the name Solomon Schechter but you likely do not know of Agnes and Margaret Smith!

"A story is never just a story," a rabbi observes at one point. This novel gives us a compelling story, wrapped in beautiful prose and exploring profound themes. And later, a character says that "language is a gesture--a finger pointing at the moon, not the moon itself". That may be true, but without such pointing, we may not notice the moon's light. ( )

Intertwined stories tell of the Jewish community in Cairo and the Muslim family who watched the synagogue. Main narrative is by a Jewish-Egyptian American who finds himself in the historical documents found in the ancient synagogue in Cairo. Much better than this description, and well written, too! ( )

3-part story of long line of Muslim guards of Cairo's Ibn Ezra Synagogue.

I found the ancient and exotic story of the first guard Ali al-Raqb intriguing and moving. A naive, sincere boy when he starts job; and in time with trust placed in him by the supportive and appreciative congregation, he gains experience and becomes an honorable, discreet man, loving husband and father.

The 2nd part of the novel deals with a large number of old documents found at the synagogue; recognition of their historical and religious value to Jews and Muslims, and to the world at large. And the need to collect, move and organize these documents to a safe location quickly; as their desirability, unsurprisingly, has resulted in greed and ongoing theft. Filled with twists and turns, lots of humor and wit, and mostly wonderful but some annoying and irksome characters made reading a pleasure.

Sadly disappointing is the 3rd and modern portion of The Last Watchman of Old Cairo which mostly felt flat, and disjointed as though Lukas had lost interest. The section about Joseph's parents' relationship, and their letters was redeeming, but adding a major decision at the end of the book felt awkward and insincere.

Still a good read overall.