Book Review: Picture in the Sand
Rob Taub
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Peter Blauner’s latest novel, Picture in the Sand, transcends genre to weave a tale of fact and fiction that combines a love story, a political thriller and a young man’s stunning transition to adulthood while embracing Hollywood and Egypt in the 1950’s to present day Brooklyn.
It’s 1954 and Egypt is embroiled in political unrest as legendary director Cecil B. DeMille prepares to shoot his epic film, The Ten Commandments. Ali Hassan, a young Egyptian (and film aficionado) lands a job as DeMille’s driver and accidentally hits an influential Imam as group of protesters surround his car. Circumstances quickly escalate when Ali suddenly finds himself caught in the middle of his cousin’s extremist plot to overthrow the newly installed Prime Minister Gamal Abdel Nasser by implementing an attack on DeMille’s film set.
The story unfolds in a flashback from present day Brooklyn, where an elderly Ali writes a series of emails to his grandson, who is intent on expressing his own political extremism. Blauner deftly transports us to Cairo and introduces every aspect of its politics, culture and the wide range of people who comprised it at that time. Further details will contain too many spoilers, so please take my advice and grab this page-turner written by a master storyteller.
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Rob Taub has enjoyed an eclectic career in film, television, radio and journalism. His work in television has encompassed everything from scripted comedies to producing World Wrestling Entertainment. As a journalist Rob has written more than 200 articles for top tier outlets including People Magazine, Foxnews.com The Cauldron/SI and The Huffington Post. Rob’s distinctive voice can be heard in several of the Coen Brothers most memorable movies including Miller’s Crossing and Barton Fink. Rob has made more than 200 appearances as a political pundit/humorist on Fox News where he shares his unique perspective on the world with viewers. He also plays the role of Russell Carlton on The Onion News Network and is a regular contributor to numerous Sirius XM Radio shows where he offers his opinions on politics, sports and popular culture. Rob hosted Tech Hub, a weekly radio show on WOR-AM and is a frequent speaker/commentator on type 2 diabetes as well as being a spokesperson for Know Diabetes by Heart, a joint venture of the American Heart Association. Rob serves on the Board of Directors of the Foreign Press Correspondents Association. Rob is a graduate of Ithaca College. Learn more about Rob at www.robtaub.com twitter @robmtaub
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