{"product_id":"here-is-a-body-a-novel-9781617970931","title":"Here Is a Body: A Novel","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"An unflinching and deeply humane masterwork by a writer of astounding talent and courage.\"—Omar El Akkad, author of \u003ci\u003eWhat Strange Paradise\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMysterious 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReminiscent 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHere Is A Body\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"An unflinching and deeply humane masterwork by a writer of astounding talent and courage.\"—\u003cb\u003eOmar El Akkad, author of \u003ci\u003eWhat Strange Paradise\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Refusing silence in Egypt. . . . \u003ci\u003eHere is a Body\u003c\/i\u003e is urgent . . . sprawling . . . [with a] conscientious impulse to record.\"—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe New York Review of Books\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Dynamic and powerful writing, brilliantly translated by Jonathan Wright.\"—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBanipal\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I loved \u003ci\u003eHere Is a Body. \u003c\/i\u003eIt's absolutely brilliant!\"—\u003cb\u003eBeth Baron, CUNY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Abdel Aziz explores the deepest aspects of what it is to be a human being: If you can’t trust your own eyes, friends, history, and memories, who—what—do you become? . . . Names and locations may be superfluous in a world of soulless governments and capitalistic opportunists, but in \u003ci\u003eHere Is a Body,\u003c\/i\u003e Abdel Aziz stirringly shows us, and demands of us: to witness, name, and remember.\"—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWorld Literature Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Haunting . . . bracing . . . This potent novel about powerful regimes and their constant rhetoric is nonetheless hopeful about powerless voices within those regimes who recognize their own manipulation. \u003ci\u003eHere is a Body \u003c\/i\u003ehandles religion, politics, community, and family with provocative vitality.\"—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A disturbing but vital read\"—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eArab News\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Nuanced\"—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe World Today, \u003c\/i\u003eChatham House\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003ci\u003eTHE QUEUE\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“The Queue...\u003c\/i\u003ehas drawn comparisons to Western classics like George Orwell’s \u003ci\u003e1984\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Trial\u003c\/i\u003e 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.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An effective critique of authoritarianism...People...will always find a way to control other people in one way or another, should it suit them. Perhaps with the publication of \u003ci\u003eThe Queue\u003c\/i\u003e, the lesson will begin to finally sink in.” —\u003cb\u003eCarmen Maria Machado, \u003ci\u003eNPR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Full of mysterious and troubling detail...Abdel Aziz delivers a striking portrait of an authority that claims all power while rejecting all responsibility, that forces people to hear and speak untruths and to embrace their own oppression.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Basma Abdel Aziz’s novel is not simply an exegesis on the state of her homeland, but a much more universal evocation of the relationships between hegemonic power and grassroots dissent. It feels both fitting and faintly tragic that she had to resort to the literature of dark fantasy to convey it.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eToronto Globe and Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Although this is a novel, if you follow events in today’s Egypt, it’s not far from the truth. A brave effort.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Post\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Queue\u003c\/i\u003e was written before the military coup that pub Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in power, but it has proved prophetic...This is a study of totalitarian logic with the plainness of a Kafka parable.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eHarper's\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Abdel Aziz illustrates how life in an authoritarian state is normalized not just by the government, but by the people.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThink Progress\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Offers a window into how the revolution failed...underlining, above all, the solidarities and divisions oppression creates, even as it allows for the stories of people who are otherwise often overlooked to be told...[\u003ci\u003eThe Queue\u003c\/i\u003e] points to the errors in thinking that make change impossible.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMusic \u0026amp; Literature\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Weird and wild...a Kafkaesque tale of a modern Egypt.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookRiot\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Equal parts dystopia, satire, and allegory...A distinctly Egyptian version of its Orwellian counterpart, much more real and all the more absurd for it...The nature of truth, its official invocations, its power and its danger, lies at the heart of this work.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[Abdel Aziz] brings her careful observations of power, pain and Egyptian society to a remarkable debut.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eQantara\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An Orwellian tale about life in a Middle Eastern country after a series of unsuccessful protests.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMen's Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[A] trenchant political fantasy...Mahfouz meets Orwell, with a particularly interesting look at the lives of Egyptian women from a variety of class backgrounds.\" —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Forward\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“One of the most exciting post-Revolution novels written in Egypt.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New Inquiry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The sense of total repression that people feel from authoritative states is chillingly detailed...It seems hugely significant...that it’s a woman who has written this book, dared to point her finger in the eyes of authority in spite of what...are very genuine threats to her own well-being.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCounterpunch\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Insightful, multilayered.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eArabLit\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Timely.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSF Signal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e“The Queue\u003c\/i\u003e is the world we live in without letting ourselves to know it…the most chilling aspect of this novel is how normal it all feels…” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOkayafrica\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“[Abdel Aziz's] characters are multi-faceted...The sense of Egypt wafts through the pages with mint tea, cafes, heat and vivacious personalities.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eArab News\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“A surreal version of modern-day Egypt.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An arresting portrayal of totalitarian control.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Captures a sense of futility and meaninglessness...Aziz ultimately suggests the worst while leaving the smallest space for hopeful interpretation, a fitting metaphor for Egypt after the Arab Spring.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Abdel Aziz is redefining Arabic women’s literature.”\u003cb\u003e —\u003ci\u003eEl-Fagr\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[\u003ci\u003eThe Queue]\u003c\/i\u003e skillfully paints the image of an authority with the power to turn human beings into indistinguishable copies of one another. Written with satire, the novel moves between dystopia and reality—or a world that seems like reality. With her first novel, Abdel Aziz has clearly secured an important position on the map of contemporary literature in the Arab world.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAl-Mogaz\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Abdel Aziz creates a world parallel to the one in which we live, one where the characters reveal to us the nature of human beings and the choices they make in life.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAl-Itihad\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"American University in Cairo Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51041749762391,"sku":"9781617970931","price":36.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781617970931.jpg?v=1750951530","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/here-is-a-body-a-novel-9781617970931","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}