A Cloudy Day on the Western Shore

A Cloudy Day on the Western Shore - Paperback

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A Cloudy Day on the Western Shore
  • A Cloudy Day on the Western Shore
A Cloudy Day on the Western Shore - Paperback

A Cloudy Day on the Western Shore - Paperback

by Mohamed Mansi Qandil
$14.95
$14.95

Book Overview

by Mohamed Mansi Qandil (Author), Barbara Romaine (Translator)

Shortlisted for the Arabic Booker Prize in 2010, this finely constructed epic traces the turbulent life of Aisha, an Egyptian girl raised in a Christian convent beyond the reach of a predatory uncle. With her English education, Aisha crosses paths with Lord Cromer, British consul-general of Egypt, and famed archaeologist Howard Carter, with whom she will trek to locate Tutankhamen's tomb. Fate briefly favors Aisha when she falls in love with the Egyptian sculptor Mahmoud Mukhtar, until events conspire to move her life along adarker path.

Part allegory, part magical realism, this novel is threaded with aspects of Egyptian antiquity, including semihistorical accounts of the excavations of ancient Egyptian relics and the tortured jealousies that accompanied them. A deftly written journey through momentous occasions in world history, A Cloudy Day on the Western Shore explores questions of Egypt's identity and history, and the implications--for better or worse--of European exploitation of the treasures of pharaonic civilization. Novelist Qandil skillfully allows readers to encounter complex questions of colonialism, gender, and sectarianism--all through the symbolic lens of an unlikely Egyptian heroine.

Author Biography

Award-winning Egyptian novelist Mohamed Mansi Qandil was born in the Nile delta. He went to medical school and worked as a country doctor before beginning to write fiction. He has published several novels, short-story collections, and children's books, and now lives in Canada.

Barbara Romaine has translated a number of novels by Radwa Ashour, as well as Bahaa' Taher's Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery. In 2011, her translation of Spectres was runner-up for the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize. She has taught Arabic at several universities for over twenty years.
Number of Pages: 392
Dimensions: 0.8 x 8.8 x 6.3 IN
Publication Date: October 11, 2018
ISBN9780815611097
Author Mohamed Mansi Qandil
PublisherSyracuse University Press
GenreLiterature
FormatPaperback
PublishedOctober 2018
LanguageENG- English
Pages392
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Fiction Historical Fiction Literary

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About Mohamed Mansi Qandil

Award-winning Egyptian novelist Mohamed Mansi Qandil worked as a physician before becoming an author and literary critic. He is the author of several short-story collections and novels, including A Cloudy Day on the Western Shore. R. Neil Hewison served as editorial director of the American University in Cairo Press until his retirement in 2017. He has translated works by Egyptian writers Yusuf Idris, Yusuf Abu Rayya, Gamal al-Ghitani, and Naguib Mahfouz. He lives in the village of Tunis in the Fayoum.

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