In the 1970s, once-cosmopolitan Alexandria was at the forefront of the clash between Nasser’s socialist-era principles and the burgeoning fundamentalist movement. Five idealistic students find themselves caught up in this tangled web, as their leftist activism makes them a target both from government surveillance and the Islamist groups seeking to curtail the city’s social life. The group of friends’ participation in the explosive ‘bread riots’ is swiftly followed by the crushing experience of prison, and the course of their young lives changes irrevocably.
The final part in Ibrahim Abdel Meguid’s Alexandria trilogy conjures up this turbulent era in rich detail. This story of young love, aspiration for social change, disillusionment and frustration will resonate with readers today.
Clouds over Alexandria
In the 1970s, once-cosmopolitan Alexandria was at the forefront of the clash between Nasser’s socialist-era principles and the burgeoning fundamenta
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IBRAHIM ABDEL MEGUID has combined critical and creative writing throughout his literary career. Soon after completing a B.A. in philosophy at Alexandria University, he published his first novel, and soon took up the position of Consultant for Cultural Matters at the Popular Culture Council. Farouk Abdel Wahab, the Ibn Rushd Professorial Lecturer in Arabic at the University of Chicago, has translated numerous Arabic works of fiction, most recently Birds of Amber by Ibrahim Abdel Meguid (AUC Press, 2005).
Kay Heikkinen
Kay Heikkinen is a translator and academic who holds a PhD from Harvard University. She was previously Ibn Rushd Lecturer of Arabic at the University of Chicago. Among other books, she has translated Radwa Ashour’s The Woman From Tantoura and Huzama Habayeb's Velvet, for which she was awarded the 2020 Saif-Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
