Excavating the Past

In Nawal Al Saadawi's Love in the Kingdom of Oil, the unnamed narrator is an archeologist, "searching for gods in the bowels of the earth" (23). In the beginning of the sequence of dream-like scenes that make up the narrative, the woman leaves her home and her husband and "disappears without a trace." The rest …

Adel El Siwi: Egypt is a Part of Africa

An exhibition of works by Egyptian artist Adel El Siwi, presented by Artspace London, opens today, November 6, 2013, and goes on to 20 January 2014. The choice of art for the exhibition is described thusly: "While choosing the artwork for this exhibition, I was dominated by two flairs: First the Monochrome, where I wanted to …

Taha Hussein: The Days

Taha Hussein's autobiography Al-Ayam, (The Days) originally serialised in Hilal and then published as a three-part book, is written in the third person, and as Roger Allen notes the book is given a touch of gentle irony by this sense of detachment from  the protagonist, who is described as "the boy"  and later "the young …