On the State of Egypt - by Alaa Al Aswany (Paperback)

About the Book

Provides an analysis of the issues present in Egyptian society, including economic stagnation, police brutality, and poverty that led to the overthrow of the Mubarak government, and reveals why the revolt was destined to happen.

Book Synopsis

"Alaa Al Aswany is among the best writers in the Middle East today, a suitable heir to the mantle worn by Naguib Mahfouz, his great predecessor." -Jay Parini, The Guardian (UK)

From one of Egypt's most acclaimed novelists, here is a vivid chronicle of Egyptian society, with penetrating analysis of all the most urgent issues--economic stagnation, police brutality, poverty, the harassment of women and of the Christian minority, to name a few--that led to the stunning overthrow of the Mubarak government. Al-Aswany addresses himself to all the questions being asked within Egypt and beyond: who will be the next president, and how will he be chosen in a land where heretofore only simpletons, opportunists and stooges involved themselves with elections? What role will the Muslim Brotherhood play? How can democratic reforms be effected among a people used to such contradictions as the religiously observant policeman who commits torture? In a candid and controversial assessment of both the potential and limitations that will determine his country's future, Al-Aswany reveals why the revolt that surprised the world was destined to happen.

"[The] star of a new generation of Egyptian novelists." -The Independent (UK)

About the Author

Alaa Al Aswany is the author of The Yacoubian Building, which was long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2006 and was the bestselling novel in the Arab world for more than five years; Chicago, named by Newsday as the best translated novel of 2006; The Automobile Club of Egypt; and the story collection Friendly Fire. He has received numerous awards internationally, including the Bashrahil Prize for the Arabic novel, the Kavafis Award from Greece and the Premio Grinzane Cavour from Italy. He was recently named by the London Times as one of the 50 best authors to have been translated into English over the last 50 years.

Jonathan Wright is a British journalist and translator. He joined Reuters news agency in 1980 and was based in the Middle East for three decades in his capacity as a correspondent. He has been translating books from the Arabic since 2008, beginning with Taxi by Khaled al-Khamissi. His translations have since won the 2013 Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation and the 2014 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.