The Day Before the Setback

Author: Iman Yahya

A novel that tells of a time of wandering dreams. Three years before June '67, full of events and pregnant with what was to come. The story of Karima, Hamza, and Abdel Moaty, or rather the story of all of Egypt! "Our conversations began to cover topics beyond love and the Egyptian dialect, delving into the world of politics and economics. In one of our meetings, "Paula" appeared like a white angel after taking a cold shower. She sat across from me at the small round dining table in the studio where she lived. She looked into my eyes and asked: Hamza, you are very intelligent, don't you want to work for an American consulting firm?" Hamza El-Nadi "The shock stunned us into silence; the discussion stopped. It was him, in flesh and blood, "Nasser" with his wide smile and white temples. He took off his sunglasses and motioned with his fingers for the four strangers to leave the tent. They left the tent, but they did not leave us. They stood outside, and loosened the upper part of the fabric of its four sides from its roof. A window formed, no more than fifty centimeters wide. The bodyguards continued to look at us through it." Karima Othman "I was surprised when the editor-in-chief whispered, bringing his head close to the desktop: - Didn't you notice the pigeons that flew yesterday during Abdel Halim's song? - Of course I did, it's clear that the song had lyrics, melody, singing, and even direction! - No, "Halim" (bless him) had his cousin bring a cage of pigeons and release them into the sky of the Officers' Club in the middle of the song "Sora"! What you didn't see was when the Republican Guard men, who were hiding in the club's trees, came down and arrested Halim's cousin." Abdel Moaty Salam