Chronicle of a Last Summer: A Novel of Egypt by Yasmine El Rashidi

Chronicle of a Last Summer: A Novel of Egypt

Yasmine El Rashidi

This book offers a window on the life of ordinary Egyptians against a backdrop of political change, dashed hopes, rebellion and repression. Our narrator gives us three snapshots of her life at 6, 20 and 36 as she grows from an inquisitive child into an aspiring filmmaker.

Extract
Then one night, without warning, the police had spread across the country banging down doors, dragging more than a hundred young men from their bedrooms in the middle of the night .... Ninety-seven days later they showed up, all of them, knocking on the doors of their homes. They wouldn't speak about what happened. Nobody dared to ask. Scars peered from necklines and sleeves.
Parallels
  • Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
  • The Yacoubin Building by Alaa Al Aswany