If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English
After the revolution, a woman and a man become acquainted in a café in Cairo. A romance develops between the two of them, but it then takes a violent turn.
On the search for her identity and a fulfilling life, she decided to move to Cairo. There, she is not perceived as an Egyptian. She is “the American girl” who has short hair and barely speaks Arabic. He grew up in a small village close to Alexandria, predominantly with his grandmother, from whom he received his first camera. He recorded the events of the Arab Spring as a photographer and generated his income in doing so. His dream of a life of freedom, which he shared with many others, was shattered. Devoid of perspective, he tries to cope with day to day life.
Noor Naga is a multi-award winning author who grew up in Toronto and now lives in Cairo. Her book “If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English” received awards which include the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. Through the use of language which is poetic and not afraid of experimentation, she brings two worlds together and in doing so, shows how societal, global misunderstandings characterise the lives of the two main characters. In an interview, the author says of this:
“What it means to be a good person, or a privileged person, or a marginalized person, or a good ally even, all of these things look so different and are so context-dependent. I was really curious what happens when you try to export values from a North American space to the third world, and to what extent do they apply.”
It is also concerned with the question of who is allowed to speak about the revolution and how. The book is divided into three parts, and the story is presented in a different manner in each of them. Every chapter begins with a question that does not always have an easily recognisable connection to the unfolding story. They make you think and allow room for interpretation.
Throughout the book, the reader is submerged into two different realities and observes how they interact and the wounds they leave behind. The book invites you to be critical of your own living conditions and any privileges you may have.
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