War in the Land of Egypt

Egypt on the eve of the 1973 October war. A young man has been drafted into the army. His father, the village elder, persuades a poor night-watchman to send his own son as a stand-in but the impersonation plan goes horribly wrong with tragic-comic results. This tale of the fiasco ? steeped in irony and black humour ? parodies outrageous corruption and ludicrous bureaucracy.

Author: 
Qaid, Yusuf
Title: 
War in the Land of Egypt
Publisher: 
Arris Books
Place of Publication: 
Egypt
Date: 
2004
Subject Area: 
Fiction
Original Language: 
Arabic
Translator: 
Olive & Lorne Kenney, & Christopher Tingley
ISBN: 
1-84437-033-X
Description: 

Egypt on the eve of the 1973 October war. A young man has been drafted into the army. His father, the village elder, persuades a poor night-watchman to send his own son as a stand-in but the impersonation plan goes horribly wrong with tragic-comic results. This tale of the fiasco ? steeped in irony and black humour ? parodies outrageous corruption and ludicrous bureaucracy.