Cairo Swan Song by Mekkawi Said (2006, translation 2009)
Read: February 2010
Scotty bought me this for valentines day as he knows I love reading translated modern arabic literature.
This was a swan song for Cairo as the central character loves it yet is leaving it and his friends behind. You see how as he has gown up he is now torn between friendship and the girl he loves. But she is still leading him on a merry dance.
His love is an American girl, studying at AUC and she returns his love and affection, but is distracted by the city. Her distraction leads her all over the city and he follows. I enjoy reading about their adventures because they take me to some parts of the city that I know, Maadi for instance, and others that I don't. I recognise descriptions of apartment buildings and nosy neighbours, and am intrigued to read descriptions of desolate buildings that house homeless, family-less youths that otherwise roam the streets.
This is a swan song because an Old Cairo is being lost, as well as an innocence.
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