Sidi al-Qatquti Shrine

Author's name: Mai Hamza

In this novel, novelist Mai Hamza takes us across timelines to discover the roots of the stories. Karam wanders at night through the houses of the old neighborhood, between his grandmothers Nadra and Saadia, and the walls of the shrine. He eats, plays, and, most importantly, recounts what he knows about this family, which extends from where Sayed was reborn to Zeinhom, who disguises himself with a name and a title other than his own, out of love and a sense of security.

It also amazes us with the details of Yassin and Nadra's lives, and the confusion and eccentricities of Karima and Taha, as we breathlessly follow their fates as they swing amidst the destinies that bring them together and then slowly separate them.

It is a novel about family roots, about the shrine and its followers, and about how destinies intertwine to change the personal history of each individual, and makes us - the readers - not let it go until we reach the end.