Biography of a Lady-Lover

Author: Talal Faisal

I was captivated by this small, beautiful book, and my heart was filled with joy that a new Egyptian writer had emerged and shone, on the verge of achieving popular success. I had previously read a small collection of poetry by Talal Faisal, which I also admired, so I approached his new novel with the hope that my admiration would be confirmed. What I expected, and more, happened; several things enchanted me in the book: the boldness in expressing true feelings, no matter how unconventional the expression, a deep sense of shared human emotions despite many pretending to be unique and different from others, and the ability to convey a genuine picture of the feelings of a large segment of Egyptian boys and young men (or should I say all of them?) towards the opposite sex, and the barriers that Egyptian traditions create, preventing spontaneous expression of these feelings. Throughout all of this, there was humor, wit, and irony untainted by any bitterness, but rather mixed with genuine empathy for people. All of this made me read the book with a real eagerness for the next sentence, then for the next chapter, and with a joy that did not end with the book, which strengthened my hope that there are talented young people in Egypt today who will undoubtedly create a cultural renaissance soon.