Sesen: The Egyptian Lotus is the first novel by Omnia El-Hakim and is published by AuthorHouse. El-Hakim is the former chair of the Physics and Engineering Department at Fort Lewis College. Born in Egypt, she immigrated to the United States and received her Ph.D. from Colorado State University in 1984.
Sesen is a fictional story about a woman whose history is reminiscent of El-Hakim’s. Mona Ishmael Ahmed Salah Yusef, born in 1947, is a girl unique in her abilities and desires, especially against the backdrop of her traditional Muslim culture.
Mona enjoys school, especially math, and likes playing games with the neighborhood boys. Mona grows up in Cairo, Egypt, during a time of peace and calm; her family lives near other families of differing ethnicities and religions, and they all socialize together.
Mona is the first born, and because her father is a respected journalist, the family is part of the middle class. Mona’s father dotes on her. He encourages her academic endeavors and supports her desire for higher education. Her mother is less enthusiastic and wants her to follow a more traditional path.
Mona has a close friend in the neighborhood, Sammy Cohen, who is not only a boy, but a Jewish boy. Mona and Cohen, as he is called, have strong feelings for each other. Cultural norms dictate only people of the same religion can marry, and Mona tries to be realistic about what the future might hold for them.
An unfortunate incident with Cohen’s mother makes Mona’s decision easier. In Mona’s home, and in most other Muslim families, the father is the king of the castle. In Cohen’s home, the roost was ruled by his mother, and she was not a benevolent head of household.
Mona went on to college, and because of her love for math, she majored in civil engineering. There were only two other females in her classes and absolutely no women professors. The experience was difficult for the three female students. The professors were disdainful and even rude, so the women banded together and became friends.
Despite these difficulties, Mona excelled. She met an older student who she later married after her graduation. She went on to have children and do so well in her job that she was offered the chance to come to America and earn a Ph.D.
After much discussion with her husband and parents, Mona decided she couldn’t pass up this opportunity. She moved to Montana with her two daughters and began classes. The change in culture, climate and classes was a huge challenge, but with hard work and pure grit, Mona succeeded and eventually became a professor at the University of Montana.
Her husband had his battles adjusting to the new living situation as well, but as a family, now five strong, they all thrived.
Years passed, and Mona expanded her career by helping women and minorities to enter college and succeed in their chosen careers. While attending a conference in the Midwest, Mona reconnected with Cohen. They began to renew their friendship. After both Mona and Cohen suffer losses, their lives change radically.
El-Hakim’s description of Egypt during the peaceful period of the middle 20th century rings true. She aptly portrays the limitations faced by females in a society where gender roles are strictly defined. El-Hakim exposes readers to several different cultures, especially the Muslim community, and shows the intimate and personal side of family life.
Sesen is a story of one woman’s journey through a time of radically changing roles and opportunities for women here and around the world.
sierrapoco@yahoo.com. Leslie Doran is a Durango freelance reviewer.
Review
Sesen: The Egyptian Lotus, by Omnia El-Hakim, 208 pages, AuthorHouse. A woman journeys from her home country of Egypt to the academia of the Rocky Mountain West, struggling to adapt to cultural changes and the rules of her religious upbringing.
