Critical Praise

"The View from Garden City provides a striking testament to the amazing spirit of the unseen and unheard Arab woman living in Cairo. These women, though powerless to make their own decisions, not only survive the mental, psychological, and physical abuse inflicted on them, but through their unbreakable bonds with each other, actually triumph and become the core, the essence, of their society."

—Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Crescent

"In Baugh’s evocative debut, an unnamed American woman studying at the American University in Cairo bears witness to the lives of several Cairene women, finding their lives at once heartbreaking, fascinating, and inspiring... Her observations and empathy are often spot on."

—Publishers Weekly

"In Baugh’s assured first novel, a young American studying Arabic in Cairo befriends the women in her apartment building... Slowly, Baugh weaves a rich tapestry of women’s lives through their stories. Without preaching, she demonstrates that patriarchal custom, not religion, places women in subservience. The narrator’s neighbors, all vibrant, intelligent individuals, provide the narrator with more of an education than her classes. This timely, important, readable book should be in most libraries."

—Library Journal

"A beautifully written, bittersweet journey into the complexities of life for six Egyptian women. Baugh magically peels away the layers of their complicated world as each crosses into forbidden territory, creating a masterpiece of intensely felt details that will seem at once strange, but familiar."

—Jean Sasson, international bestselling author of Princess