Winner of the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel (Best Novel), 2023.
Ranim, an Egyptian art historian, becomes obsessed with a partially severed Fayum Mummy Portrait of a mysterious young woman from the 1st Century AD. Her quest to locate the missing half of the painting and unlock its subject’s identity bridges centuries. Alternating between Roman Egypt and the modern day, Rasha Adly utilizes her background in art history to bring ancient ruins and forgotten lives to breathing reality. This archaeological mystery is a beautiful study of historical memory, proving art can defy death to recover lost female voices.