Egypt in the 1950's. The protagonist Ram is part of an egyptian upper class family, but he's more oriented on Europe, so he studied in England and came back into a home country that seems to be paralysed, demanding for a change. Trying to connect with the West. That's at least what I got, when I read the story of Ram and his intellectual circle of friends as a picture for Egypt's condition at the time. But this book is full of contradictions. For example, on one hand Ram enjoys the privileges of being in the upper class and has no job, but on the other he is a communist and with no money. He is politically and culturally orientated on England, but lives in Egypt which is being attacked by England. Compared to him, the other characters were sometimes a bit one-dimensional or unreal, what can be deliberately made. So in the end I feel sorry for this lost figure Ram, who needs booze and gambling and is harsh and cynical to deal with his unclear position in the world. Not to speak about the love story in the book. But I admire his positive side-attitude, to never stop and get depressed. I like that he is not a hero and not a character to fall in love with. I got a lot about his character, but sometimes I couldn't really grab the story around it. There is so much plot which I thought that went nowhere. Also I can not say if the main thing of the book is the unique personality of the protagonist, his search for an egyptian identity, or the picture of Egypt in the fifties. It's this lost feeling, that external silence while something is trembling inside, what made me interested, what is mostly left from this book in my memory. But it's not that we had the chance to really look inside. #waguihghali #snookerinkairo #beerinthesnookerclub #ghali #cairo #review #literature #bookstagram #booklover #guyshworead #gayswhoread #instagood #photooftheday #visualsoflife #literatur #leseempfehlung #букстаграм #литература #валихгали #каир #рецензия https://www.instagram.com/p/CXJrCOLr6Rp/?utm_medium=tumblr
