The Lady of Zamalek - (Hoopoe Fiction) by Ashraf El-Ashmawi (Paperback)
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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>"It was in the spring of 1927 that Cairo's attention was captured by the shocking murder of prominent businessman Solomon Cicurel in his Nile-side villa in the upscale Zamalek district. It was a burglary that went wrong and four culprits were soon arrested. Their trial was concluded swiftly, their punishments were decisive, and society breathed a sigh of relief. In Ashraf El-Ashmawi's telling, however, there was a fifth accomplice, Abbas, who escaped back to his home in the countryside to lay low until the murder trial blew over. He had not left empty-handed and had kept some documents from Cicurel's villa, ones that he realized would lead him to a hidden safe. Abbas hatched a plan to return to the capital, find the safe, and make his fortune. The first step was to place his sister Zeinab with Cicurel's widow, Paula. A web of twists and intrigues run through the life of Abbas, in what unfolds as a tale of modern Egypt-taking in the Second World War, the 1952 revolution and the rise of Gamal Abdel-Nasser, the 1967 war, the Sadat and Mubarak eras-from the 1920s through to 1990"--<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p><b>Spanning twentieth-century Egyptian history and opening with the true story of a prominent Cairo businessman's murder, this rags-to-riches story wondrously combines real-life events with fiction, told by a "magical storyteller"</b> </p> <p>It was in the spring of 1927 that Cairo's attention was captured by the shocking murder of prominent businessman Solomon Cicurel in his Nile-side villa in the upscale Zamalek district. It was a burglary that went wrong, and four culprits were soon arrested. Their trial was concluded swiftly, their punishments were decisive, and society breathed a sigh of relief. </p> <p>In Ashraf El-Ashmawi's telling, there was a fifth accomplice, Abbas, who fled to his home in the countryside to lay low until the murder trial blew over. However, he did not escape empty-handed and kept stolen documents from Cicurel's villa, ones that he imagined would lead him to a hidden safe. Abbas hatched a plan to return to the capital, find the safe, and make his fortune. The first step was to place his sister Zeinab with Cicurel's widow, Paula.</p> <p>Abbas's rags-to-riches story unfolds as a tale of modern Egypt, taking in the Second World War, the 1952 revolution and rise of Nasser, the 1967 war, and the Sadat and Mubarak eras. Spanning the 1920s to the 1990s, El-Ashmawi deftly weaves together history with fiction in this intriguing English-language debut. </p><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br>A grand family drama set in a society at once strange and familiar, rife with surprise revelations that keep the reader fully engaged. . . .It deserves to be a bestseller.--<b>Alice Stephens, <i>Washington Independent Review of Books</b></i> <p/> There's something very compelling about opening a book to read about a place you've never visited before, from the eyes of an author who knows it well. --<b>Leah Dearborn, <i> LitReactor</b></i> <p/> A brilliantly spun tale. . . playing with politics and powerful people. El-Ashmawi paints a story where money comes and goes, power changes hands, and where both can disappear in an instant.--<b><i>Arab News</b></i> <p/> A bold attempt to reimagine not only the transformations of the Zamalek district of Cairo, but also those of the Egyptian nation itself.--<b>Dr. Mohamed Afifi, <i> al-Dostoor</b></i> <p/> Ashraf El-Ashmawy holds a scalpel to dissect the classes of Egyptian society over more than half a century." --<b>Bilal Ramadan, <i>al-Youm al-Sabe'</b></i> <p/> "Beautiful, literary, and enjoyable"--<b>Alaa Al Aswany, author of<i> The Yacoubian Building</i> on <i>The Barman </b></i> <p/> "A magical storyteller"--<b><i>Al-Hayat </i>on <i>Sheepdogs </b></i><br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br><b>Ashraf El-Ashmawi</b> is an Egyptian author, judge, and legal scholar who is a regular contributor to newspapers and online publications, writing about crime prevention and social issues. The author of nine critically received novels in Arabic, in 2013 he was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (the Arabic "Booker") for his novel <i>Toya</i>, in 2014 he won best novel at the Cairo International Book Fair for <i>Barman</i>, and in 2019 he again won best novel at the Bahrain Cultural Forum for <i>Sheepdogs</i>. His books have been translated into French, German, Japanese, Italian, among other languages, and<i> The Lady of Zamalek </i>is his first novel to be translated into English.
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