The novel begins in Tahrir Square, taking its characters back in time to portray vivid scenes from the lives they lived—lives that, with all their cruelty and injustice, ultimately led to the final, correct choice: the revolution, with its deterrence reaching the point of killing and bloodshed. We meet characters like Badriya, the writer who decides on isolation; Fouada, different from all other women; Shaker, who would wake up to his father beating his mother; Hamida, who attempted suicide at twenty-one; and Saadia, who takes her daughter to a surgeon to abort her fetus.

This is Nawal El Saadawi with her renowned boldness, her rush to voice what others avoid, and her masterful narrative style capable of captivating the reader from the very first scene. She delves into various segments of Egyptian society, from the elite to the marginalized, exposing the decay and corruption that has afflicted it on all levels. She points to the political system's role in perpetuating this state, where no social, moral, religious, or political aspect has been spared.

How does the principled become an opportunist and the civilized become primitive? How are souls and pens bought? How is the anger of the people exploited and manipulated for the benefit of the powerful? Nawal El Saadawi takes her characters into the heart of the Egyptian revolution, the counter-revolution, and those who trade in it. She digs deep to uncover the reasons for failures and the glimmers of victory, starting with the psychological makeup of the Egyptian individual, through economic and ideological dependency, to the most complex entanglements of relationships, stances, and sudden events. It is a novel built on truth to confront all that is built on falsehood.

• Publishing House: The Print-House for Distribution and Publishing
• Author: Nawal El Saadawi
• Number of Pages: 284
• Year of Publication: 2014
• ISBN: 9789953887920
• Cover Type: Paperback