In an exciting and interesting atmosphere and in a graceful and captivating language that takes your breath away from the first page, where reality blends with fantasy in a wondrous tale, the events of the novel “The Hotel” take place.
We learn about the violent conflict between the governor Abbas Hilmi I and the simple peasant Aliwa Abu Zahra. We are amazed by the cunning of the English doctor William Brown, the governor’s physician. We marvel at the excessive energy of the polygamous Adham Bey al-Othmanli. We contemplate Basima, the first Egyptian girl to study the principles of the three heavenly religions and learn to play the piano, and how she dealt with a young man who was being pursued by an entire country.
In this novel, Nasser Iraq smoothly leads us to the alleys and lanes of Cairo. We wander through Darb Qarmuz in Al-Hussein, visit the “hotel” in the middle of this alley, and learn about the intense social and psychological conflicts that take place there, which have had an impact on all of Egypt.