BOOKS
Zouba’s Theatre | Masrah Zouba
How far has Egypt changed in the last sixty years? A question
that Salwa Bakr answers in this collection of short stories that
range from the 1960s to the changes in Egyptian society of the
January 2011 Revolution.
Bakr’s opening stories tackle Syria’s secession from the United
Arab Republic, the political union between Egypt and Syria.
Through history, the author takes the reader on a journey
of discovery of the shifts that the Egyptian society has seen
over more than half a century, also looking at the Arab–Israeli
conflict and the oil revolution in the Middle East.
The narration is omniscient, cinematic, and musical, asking
questions of identity and how far revolutions have changed
Egypt. The language is diverse, from Standard Arabic to
Colloquial and different dialects.
“I am not inspired by history; I write about history,” Bakr says.
Salwa Bakr
Salwa Bakr was born in Cairo in 1949. She gained her BA
in business management from Ain Shams University in
1972 and a second BA in theatre criticism in 1976.
She worked as a government rationing inspector from
1974 to 1980, then as a film and theatre critic for
several Arabic-language publications. In 1985 she began
concentrating on creative writing.
She has published seven collections of short stories,
seven novels, and a play. Her works have been translated
to a number of languages.
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