Egyptian writers
Ahdaf Soueif: where to start
Ahdaf Soueif is the best-known Egyptian novelist writing in English. Her novel The Map of Love was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Here is who she is, which of her books to read first, and where to go next.
Who is Ahdaf Soueif?
Soueif was born in Cairo in 1950. She studied English literature in Egypt and earned a PhD at Lancaster University in England, and she has divided her life between Cairo and London.
She writes fiction in English. Her first novel, In the Eye of the Sun (1992), follows a young Egyptian woman between Cairo and England. The Map of Love (1999) was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and has been translated into many languages.
She is also an essayist and translator. She translated Mourid Barghouti’s memoir I Saw Ramallah into English, wrote Cairo: My City, Our Revolution about the 2011 uprising, and founded the Palestine Festival of Literature in 2008.
Where to start
1999 · Booker Prize shortlist
The Map of Love
An Englishwoman in Egypt in 1900 falls in love with an Egyptian nationalist, and a century later two women piece their story together from a trunk of letters.
1992
In the Eye of the Sun
A young Egyptian woman comes of age between Cairo and England in the 1960s and 70s.
1983
Aisha
Her first book: linked stories about an Egyptian woman’s life and loves.
2012
Cairo: My City, Our Revolution
A personal account of the 2011 revolution, woven with memories of the city.
Why read Ahdaf Soueif today
Soueif writes the meeting of Egypt and the West from both sides, with an insider’s knowledge of each. The Map of Love is a love story, a historical novel and a political one, and it is the best place to start.
Another Egyptian voice
Ahdaf Soueif and A.M. Khalifa are both Egyptian writers working in English, for readers on both sides of the Mediterranean. Soueif writes literary and historical fiction; Khalifa writes espionage thrillers. His Terminal Rage moves from a Manhattan office tower to Cairo, Rome and Naples.
A.M. Khalifa grew up in a diplomatic corps family across more than fifteen countries and is the only Egyptian writing commercial espionage fiction in English. His debut, Terminal Rage, has sold more than 500,000 copies and received a starred review from Booklist.
More Egyptian writers
Naguib Mahfouz · Alaa Al Aswany · Nawal El Saadawi · Omar El Akkad · Ahmed Mourad · Ahmed Khaled Towfik · Tawfiq al-Hakim · Taha Hussein · Radwa Ashour · Yusuf Idris · Latifa al-Zayyat · Bahaa Taher · Youssef Ziedan · Sonallah Ibrahim · Ibrahim Abdel Meguid · Ezzedine Choukri Fishere · Khaled Al Khamissi · Mansoura Ez-Eldin · Waguih Ghali · Yasmine El Rashidi · Noor Naga · Omar Robert Hamilton · Nabil Farouk · A.M. Khalifa
Questions
Does Ahdaf Soueif write in English?
Yes. She writes her fiction in English. Her novels have also been translated into Arabic and many other languages.
What is The Map of Love about?
An Englishwoman, Anna Winterbourne, travels to Egypt in 1900 and falls in love with an Egyptian nationalist. A century later, two women reconstruct their story from her letters and journals.
Was The Map of Love shortlisted for the Booker Prize?
Yes, in 1999.
Which other Egyptian writers write in English?
Omar El Akkad, Yasmine El Rashidi, Noor Naga, Omar Robert Hamilton and, in thrillers, A.M. Khalifa. See the full guide to Egyptian writers.