An unknown observer is watching the residents of a small, closely-knit neighborhood in Cairo’s old city, making notes. The college graduate, the street vendors, the political prisoner, the café owner, the taxi driver, the beautiful green-eyed young wife with the troll of a husband—all are subjects of surveillance. The watcher’s reports flow seamlessly into a narrative about Zafarani Alley, a village tucked into a corner of the city, where intrigue is the main entertainment, and everyone has a secret. Suspicion, superstition, and a wicked humor prevail in this darkly comedic novel. Drawing upon the experience of his own childhood growing up in al-Hussein, where the fictional Zafarani Alley is located, Gamal al-Ghitani has created a world richly populated with characters and situations that possess authenticity behind their veils of satire.

Reviews

"An incredibly funny, inventive novel. . . What most intrigues me about this novel is the knitting together of the various characters and stories. Gamal al-Ghitani creates a wonderful, lively world that is more ironic, funny, and verbally dazzling than any other contemporary Arabic book that I’ve read in recent years."--Chad Post, Three Percent

Praise for Zayni Barakat: "A gripping, unforgettable work of prose fiction. It displays its author's originality of conception and execution at every step."--Edward Said, in his Foreword to the book

Praise for Zayni Barakat: "Whether read as a colorful evocation of past times or as a bleak political parable, Zayni Barakat succeeds brilliantly."--Robert Irwin, Times Literary Supplement

Praise for Pyramids Texts: "The experience of reading al-Ghitani's Pyramid Texts leaves you feeling spellbound."--Al-Ahram Hebdo

Praise for Pyramids Texts: "A beautiful and tantalizing work."--Juan Goytisolo, author of State of Siege