Evel Knievel Days

Butte, Mont., resident, Khosi Saqr, the 20-something son of an Egyptian father who abandoned him at three and an American mother descended from an Irish immigrant, is a mess. Afraid to leave home, he’s obsessed with his work at the local history museum, in love with his best friend (who just got engaged to someone else), and responsible for his sick mother, who doesn’t always take her meds. While Toutonghi’s wry wit combined with his lush descriptions of Egyptian cooking make for a book that reflects the complexity of its main character, the novel is often over-the-top and, as a result, falls frustratingly shy of its potential. Were the variables slightly more plausible—if Khosi weren’t quite so OCD, his mother quite so wacky, his father such a compulsive liar and thief, and his ultimate journey to Egypt so efficiently responsible for every possible means of rebirth and tidy resolve—this could have been a worthwhile tale of self-discovery and the unexpected possibilities of home. Instead, every plot twist and new development feels overwrought, not the least of which is the surprise arrival in Cairo of the ghost of Khosi’s great-great-grandfather, a clairvoyant Montana copper baron with mustache so spectacular it resembles “the tail of a groundhog.” Agent: Renee Zuckerbrot. (July)