Women of Karantina

Nael Eltoukhy is an Egyptian writer and journalist, born in Kuwait in 1978. He graduated from the Hebrew Department in Ain Shams University, Cairo in 2000. His first collection of short stories was published in 2003, and he is the author of four novels. He has also translated two books from Hebrew into Arabic. Robin Moger studied Egyptology and Arabic at Oxford before working as a journalist in Cairo for six years. He is the translator of A Dog with No Tail by Hamdi Abu Golayyel (AUC Press, 2009). He currently lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

"There is no doubt that you will encounter much hilarity here, in Nael Eltoukhy's Women of Karantina it is as enjoyable as a cold drink when thirsty . . . [and uses] humor that is critical, sarcastic, and extremely clever."—al-Tahrir"Women of Karantina is a totally different experience. Although a lot of its dialogue and details draw on Egyptian life in recent decades, it is ruled by a logic entirely of its own that coherently pulls the reader into its world."—al-Mudun"Darkly funny. . . [Eltoukhy] simultaneously revels in and mourns the dark underbelly of Alexandria, where the locals live and fight. This is a side of Alexandria that is hardly glimpsed, let alone explored with Eltoukhy's brand of incisive humor."—Chicago Tribune"An exciting and original work, which represents and important contribution to contemporary Egyptian and Arab Literature."—Banipal"Peopled with believable characters doing unbelievable things, and written with a light, satirical touch"—Financial Times