The Book of Safety
A Novel
Published on 18. January 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-977-416-821-5 (ISBN)
Description
At one interrogation, he encounters Mustafa Ismail: a university professor turned master thief, who breaks into the homes of the great and the good and then blackmails them into silence.Mustafa has dedicated his existence to the perfection of his trade and authored a book titled The Book of Safety, the ultimate guide to successful thievery, containing everything from philosophical principles to the best way to open a door.Yasser Abdel Hafiz's beautiful and deceptively effortless novel tracks Khaled's descent into obsession with this mysterious book and its author, in a narrative that holds us spellbound.
Reviews / Votes
"A fascinating tale set in an Orwellian Cairo."--Manal Shakir, Arab News"Dystopicphilosophical crimewriting."--Global Literature in Libraries Initiative
"With cool and incisive prose, Yasser Abdel Hafez follows Khaled into obsession with this mysterious book and its author."--Marcia Lynx Qualey, Arabic Literature (in English) Blog
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cairo
Egypt
Publishing group
The American University in Cairo Press
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 205 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
274 gr
ISBN-13
978-977-416-821-5 (9789774168215)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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Persons
Yaser Abdel Hafez is a journalist and novelist, and currently works as an editor at the literary magazine Akhbar al-Adab. His first novel On the Occasion of Life was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction. He lives in Cairo.Robin Moger is the translator of Otared by Mohammad Rabie and Women of Karantina by Nael Eltoukhy, among other books. His translation for Writing Revolution won the 2013 English PEN Award for outstanding writing in translation. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa.