Gamal al-Ghitani (Author) (1945–2015) was an Egyptian novelist, literary editor, political commentator, and public intellectual. He published over a dozen novels, including The Zafarani Files (AUC Press, 2009), as well as several collections of short stories. He was also founding editor of the literary magazine, Akhbar al-adab (1993–2011). He was awarded the Egyptian State Prize for the Novel (1980), the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France (1987), and the Egyptian State Prize for Literature (2007). In 2015, he received the Nile Award in Literature, Egypt’s highest literary honor.Edward W. Said (Foreword by) (1935–2003), an internationally renowned literary and cultural critic, was professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, New York. He is the author of many books, including Orientalism and Culture and Imperialism.Farouk Abdel Wahab (Translated by) (1943–2013) was Ibn Rushd Professorial Lecturer in Arabic at the University of Chicago. He was the translator of many works of Arabic fiction, including Gamal al-Ghitani’s The Book of Epiphanies (AUC Press, 2012). He won the 2007 Saif Ghobash–Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation for his translation of The Lodging House by Khairy Shalaby (AUC Press pbk, 2008).

"A scorching allegorical critique of totalitarianism—The New York Times "Succeeds brilliantly" —Robert Irwin, Times Literary Supplement"One of the most successful contemporary Egyptian novels. . . . [with] echoes of Kafka. . . . This novel has a relevance that goes beyond the last days of Mamluk Cairo or the Egypt of Gamel Abdel Nasser."—BanipalPRAISE FOR GAMAL AL-GHITANI:"A novelist of vision and daring."—Edward Said"One of modern Arabic literature's most prominent voices."—Chandrahas Choudhury, The National"Beautiful and tantalizing"—Juan Goytisolo, author of State of Siege on Pyramid Texts