Book set in Cairo, Egypt. Reviewed on 2019/08: https://www.instagram.com/p/B1grHEzAxf8/
Not all #bannedbooks are created equal. Some of them will make for a great read. Some of them will leave you wanting for more or something else. But you and I know that. The #egyptian authorities don’t. They ban books like it’s a bodily function. Regardless of who is the latest #pharaoh in power, they all have had one thing in common throughout history: their addiction to #censor any text or dissent remotely controversial, deprecatory or introspective. When you consider the outstanding contributions of #egyptianwriters to Literature, you also have to take into consideration how #censorship has played a role in molding their texts and their fame afterwards. When it comes to #karimalrawi , his fame as a #banned #playwright preceded his #debutnovel : #thebookofsands . My guess here is that the “censors” knew of the #controversial reputation of #alrawi beforehand and simply banned his novel without even bothering to read it. This book does talk about all the #corruption , powerlessness and abuse plaguing Egyptian society. But if you pay close attention to the story between a father and a daughter, this is ultimately a very candid and hopeful story about the resilience and tenacity of the Egyptian people. Again you can’t deny the political background of the story, especially within the framework of the #arabspring . However the main action in the story takes place at a human level between Tarek and Neda and the rest feels like background noise. #recommended#egyptianliterature #cairo#bannedcairo #censored
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