EGYPT, FICTION

If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English
Noor Naga

This book is set in Cairo a few years after the Arab Spring, and we get changing perspectives from two main characters. Neither are named, but one is an Egyptian man from a small town, broke and disillusioned with the revolution (or lack thereof) and the other is a woman born in America to Egyptian parents but with limited Arabic and no Egyptian passport, if she keeps her mouth shut she can ‘almost pass’ for a Cairene. They meet, and a romance begins, but it’s clearly doomed. The book is formally experimental, with a daring three-part structure and selective use of footnotes that Naga’s excellent sentences absolutely pull off. I’m recommending it to someone travelling to Egypt because it doesn’t shy away from the complicated politics — both socioeconomic and interpersonal — after the Arab Spring. For Western readers in particular, some ironies and uncomfortable truths are laid bare. The city of Cairo in this book is the one I walked through, too. I recognised meals and scents and feelings.

Recommended by Bri Lee who was last in Egypt in 2024.
Follow Bri Lee’s reading and travels here.