Books
Gambling on imagination
March 6, 2012
Gambling on imagination
“I'm a young female, gambling on [people’s] imagination.” This is how the 42-year-old novelist and associate professor of English at…
‘A Tunisian Tale’: A grim delight
March 4, 2012
‘A Tunisian Tale’: A grim delight
The spark at the center of Hassouna Mosbahi’s short novel, “A Tunisian Tale,” is a human immolation. As in the…
Traveling under ‘The Seven Skies’
February 29, 2012
Traveling under ‘The Seven Skies’
“He who passes place and time lightly, Doesn’t let place enslave him, or time waste him” (From “The Beauty of…
Soueif’s ‘Cairo: My City’ spins stories within stories to keep a revolution alive
February 26, 2012
Soueif’s ‘Cairo: My City’ spins stories within stories to keep a revolution alive
Ahdaf Soueif’s “Cairo: My City, Our Revolution” is an addition to the blossoming genre of “revolution diary” literature. It…
‘Ma’sat Madam Fahmy’ revisits a tragic affair
February 16, 2012
‘Ma’sat Madam Fahmy’ revisits a tragic affair
The tragedy of Madam Margaret Fahmy — or Mounira Fahmy as she later named herself — has been told before.…
A shy marketer with a mission
February 12, 2012
A shy marketer with a mission
A handful of minor international celebrities have risen out of the uprising that heaved through the country a year ago,…
As Cairo Book Fair closes, publishers reflect on their experience in a ‘revolutionary’ fair
February 7, 2012
As Cairo Book Fair closes, publishers reflect on their experience in a ‘revolutionary’ fair
From the outset, the 43rd Cairo International Book Fair was surrounded by controversy. The government called for postponing it due…
A walk through the Cairo Book Fair
February 5, 2012
A walk through the Cairo Book Fair
There is an ad-hoc quality to this year's Cairo International Book Fair, as if it had been thrown together…
‘The Ultras Book’: Ethnography of an unusual crowd
February 2, 2012
‘The Ultras Book’: Ethnography of an unusual crowd
The violent clashes on Wednesday after a football game between the Ahly and Masry teams in Port Said have brought…
In other words: Spotlight on Banipal Prize awardee Barbara Romaine
January 31, 2012
In other words: Spotlight on Banipal Prize awardee Barbara Romaine
Next week, the winners of the annual Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation will be celebrated in London. When the…