The Automobile Club of Egypt

A microcosm of corruption and oppression in Egypt . . . Aswany brings a mix of burning indignation and unstoppable exuberance that is all his own to this swarming picture of a world on the brink of shattering change * * Sunday Times * *
One of Egypt's most valuable writers * * Guardian * *
A scathing, brilliantly executed novel * * New York Times * *
A wonderful storyteller * * Spectator * *
Among the best writers in the Middle East today . . . Al Aswany has his own magic * * Guardian * *
A master observer of the human condition . . . unputdownable * * Literary Review * *
Gripping . . . a page-turner * * Toronto Star * *
Seductive . . . boasts rich and rewarding material * * Boston Globe * *
Wonderful . . . almost impossible to put down . . . combines terrific storytelling with historical empathy * * Star Tribune * *
[A] raucous, technicolor novel . . . its blazing heart is the seething discontent that led to the 1952 Revolution * * Booklist * *
A sharp, humorous novel -- CAROLINE MOORHEAD * * Spectator * *
The Yacoubian author is back with another swarming depiction of a changing world * * Sunday Times * *
There are many stories here. The book is elaborate to bursting point, but always controlled, always whole. It is as juicy and satisfying as a shiny apple, its taste both strange and familiar, compassionate and bitter * * The Times * *
Fabulous, acutely observed story of human foibles, full of vivid scenes and extraordinary characters * * Mail on Sunday * *
Addictively readable * * Independent * *
Absorbing * * Observer * *
Bewitching * * Scotsman * *
Myriad colourful details, intertwining narratives, and dramatic cliffhangers form an earthy, entertaining contrast to the novel's sober preoccupations - namely, the human spirit's capacity to both transcend and be crushed by oppressive systems * * Publishers Weekly * *

Praise for Chicago:

Brilliant . . . Al Aswany is like an Egyptian Anne Tyler

* * Sunday Times * *
A powerful, political page-turner * * Daily Mail * *
A masterpiece, the warmest and finest and most involving Egyptian novel in the last thirty years * * Open Letters Monthly * *