'The Queue'

Dystopian novel

This award-winning novel, originally published in Arabic in 2013, is set in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, yet is clearly relevant to post-revolution Egypt and life under the regime of Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. A centralized authority known as the Gate has risen to power in the aftermath of the “Disgraceful Events,” a failed popular uprising. Citizens are required to obtain permission from the Gate for even the most basic of their daily affairs, yet the building never opens, and the queue in front of it grows longer and longer.

The novel explores the workings of authoritarianism, in collusion with other non-state powers, and the efforts of ordinary people to survive against the odds.

Basma Abdel Aziz

Melville House Publishing

Basma Abdel Aziz

English

15/05/2016