"The Queue ... has drawn comparisons to Western classics like George Orwell’s 1984 and The Trial by Franz Kafka. It represents a new wave of dystopian and surrealist fiction from Middle Eastern writers who are grappling with the chaotic aftermath and stinging disappointments of the Arab Spring." -- The New York Times Winner of the English PEN Translation Award In a surreal, but familiar, vision of modern day Egypt, 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 in order to take care of even the most basic of their daily affairs, yet the Gate never opens, and the queue in front of it grows longer. Citizens from all walks of life mix and wait in the sun: a revolutionary journalist, a sheikh, a poor woman concerned for her daughter’s health, and even the brother of a security officer killed in clashes with protestors. Among them is Yehia, a man who was shot during the Events and is waiting for permission from the Gate to remove a bullet that remains lodged in his pelvis. Yehia’s health steadily declines, yet at every turn, officials refuse to assist him, actively denying the very existence of the bullet. Ultimately it is Tarek, the principled doctor tending to Yehia’s case, who must decide whether to follow protocol as he has always done, or to disobey the law and risk his career to operate on Yehia and save his life. Written with dark, subtle humor, The Queue describes the sinister nature of authoritarianism, and illuminates the way that absolute authority manipulates information, mobilizes others in service to it, and fails to uphold the rights of even those faithful to it.

The Queue

Literature & Fiction

Abdel Aziz, Basma

Literary

Melville House

Here Is a Body: A Novel (Hoopoe Fiction)

In this follow-up to her PEN Award-winning novel, The Queue, an electrifying new voice in Arab women's fiction passionately brings to life the machinations of state oppression Mysterious men are rounding up street children and enrolling them in a so-called "rehabilitation program," designed to indoctrinate them for the military-backed regime's imminent crackdown on its opponents. Across town, thousands of protesters encamp in a city square demanding the return of the recently deposed president. Reminiscent of recent clashes in Egypt and reflective of political movements worldwide where civilians face off against state power, Abdel Aziz deftly illustrates the universal human struggles between resisting and succumbing to an oppressive regime. Here Is A Body is a courageous and powerful depiction of the state cooptation of human bodies, the dehumanization of marginalized groups, and the use of inflammatory religious rhetoric to manipulate a narrative.

Hoopoe

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Abdel Aziz, Basma. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Abdel Aziz, Basma

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Abdel Aziz, Basma. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Queue

Here Is a Body: A Novel (Hoopoe Fiction)

Here Is a Body: A Novel (Hoopoe Fiction)