The mule of the throne

Author's name: Khairy Shalaby

Novelist Khairy Shalaby presents his novel "The Throne Mule" inspired by a story his mother used to tell him whenever he asked her why some were poor despite their noble origins, and others were rich despite their lowly origins. The story or legend captivated his imagination as a child and continued to captivate him as an adult. The novel takes place in the town of Bani Salem in the mid-seventies, and specifically every Laylat al-Qadr, the townspeople wait for the throne mule to arrive laden with gold and a lot of money, to choose the promised one among them and suddenly enrich him. However, it later becomes clear to people that the throne mule also comes with the groaning head of a murdered man, and whoever accepts the money must also accept the burial of the murdered man's head in his home. Between the lust for money and the price of accepting it, calculations become confused and opinions differ. This is evident through the characters in the novel and their stories, which they tell us as witnesses to this era.