Maryam's Maze by Mansoura Ez Eldin
Maryam's Maze is the first novel by this promising young Egyptian woman writer which belongs to a generation of writers that tackle individual issues rather than those of the society as a whole, separating her from the likes of Naguib Mahfouz. Her first novel focuses on the relationship between dreams and reality. Maryam wakes up from a disturbing dream in a strange apartment in Cairo, far from the dormitory where she fell asleep. As she tries to reconnect with her life she finds that her roommate, boyfriend, her life story’s narrative, she finds that all these links have been severed. Those closest to her have disappeared leaving no trace. The true meaning of this allegory is only revealed at the end of the tale. A promising start.

The Heron by Ibrahim Aslan
Ibrahim Aslan was born in Egypt in 1937 to a working class family. His reputation as a leading Arab writer propelled him to important positions in Arab media and publishing. He is currently culture editor in the Cairo bureau of the London-based daily newspaper al-Hayat. His first novel, The Heron, was published in Arabic in 1983. It is set in a working class neighbourhood in Imbaba district on the eve of January 1977’s bread riots, which protested “World Bank and International Monetary Fund-mandated termination of state subsidies on basic foodstuffs”. The novel was adapted to film by Dawud Abdel Sayed. The film, entitled “Kit Kat”, was released in 1991.

A Dog With No Tail by Hamdi Abu Golayyel
Abu Golayyel ‘s second largely autobiographical novel, A Dog With No Tail, won him the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature in 2008. Coming from the distant Bedouin villages of the Fayoum, the narrator leaves his traditional way of life for the uncertainty of the densely packed Egyptian capital drawn in by the promises of a better life only to find that the promised land of opportunity is a struggle to find homes, jobs and security. This darkly funny introspective novel’s original title Al fa’il, the doer, the labourer is particularly befitting of a book that explores the quest for purpose and identity, “a story about building things up and knocking them down”.

Wolves Of The Crescent Moon by Yousef Al-Mohaimeed
Published in 2003 and subsequently banned, this novel by Saudi Arabian Yousef Al-Mohaimeed is set in contemporary Ryadh and tells the tales of 3 Arab outsiders:  a middle-aged Bedouin, an orphan on the verge of becoming an adult, and an old ex-slave from Sudan.  Each of them is missing an essential body part. Al Mohaimeed’s characters give voice to the forgotten under class of a country that is riddled with contradictions:  clans and modernity, beauty and suffering, wealth and servitude.  Wolves Of The Crescent Moon is an unflattering insight to a country that is closed up to the rest of us.

Black Magic by Hamdy el-Gazzar
Hamdy el-Ghazzar’s debut novel, Black Magic, earned him the Sawiris Foundation Prize in Egyptian Literature in 2006. It tells the story of Nasir, a young photographer’s passion for an older divorcee. The narrator, Nasir himself, has a vacant voice that has been compared to that of Camus’ L'Etranger. As he describes the passion, the early stages of their relationship and their love making one can’t help but commend this brutally honest voice.

Distant Train by Ibrahim Abdel Meguid
In the tradition of magical realism, with the likes of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Meguid, another winner of the Naguib Mahfouz prize for literature, tells the story of the inhabitants of a distant train station settlement in Egypt who are waiting for a train to arrive. Each character is a story: Zeidan, a village elder is seduced by a djinn, Suad, a widow’s bosom drives men mad, Ali heads for the city in search of the distant train only to be met with corruption and misery. Abdel Meguid’s allegorical style makes hima unique voice in today’s literary landscape.

Friendly Fire: Stories by Alaa al Aswany
The third book by the best selling Alaa el Aswany, Friendly Fire, is a collection of short stories. Whereas his first two novels, the Yacoubian building and Chicago, painted a larger picture of Egypt, Friendly Fire focuses on the details of the lives of each individual depicted in the book. While it does not have the strength of his first novel, this collection of short stories is well done and tightly written. Here, al Aswany seems more interested in social and professional hierarchy, and although his characters sometimes attempt to overcome the “way things are” they ultimately fail. A revealing collection.