The Automobile Club of Egypt

“Scathing, brilliantly executed. . . . Brim[s] with a large cast of memorable characters.” —The New York Times

“Wonderful. . . . Almost impossible to put down. . . . Combines terrific storytelling with historical empathy.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Seductive. . . . Rich and rewarding.” —The Boston Globe
 
“Aswany is a master of suspense. . . . Every character in his novel is patiently described in exquisite detail.” —The Christian Science Monitor

“[Al Aswany’s novels] are national epics of the intimate: they remind their readers that every household hosts its own incarnations of fundamentalism, despotism, corruption, and graft.” —Harper’s

“It’s a masterpiece, the warmest and finest and most involving Egyptian novel in the last thirty years.” —Open Letters Monthly

“Gripping. . . . A riveting family saga.” —The Toronto Star

“An important social satire and a harsh criticism of modern Egypt. . . . Al Aswany has once again delivered a remarkable and devastating portrait of a deeply unhappy society, in the guise of a novel that is at once funny, perceptive and affectionate.” —The Spectator

“[A] rich political fable. . . . [Al Aswany is] a charming, earthy, resourceful storyteller.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Entertaining. . . . Al Aswany memorably evokes corrupt British-occupied Egypt in the years before the 1952 revolution.” —Publishers Weekly