Yusuf al-Qa'id
Yusuf al-Qa'id is a writer, novelist, and member of the Parliament of Egypt. He is best known for his novel War in the Land of Egypt.,
Life
Al-Qa'id was born in 1944 in the village of al-Dahiriya, near Itay El Barud, in Egypt's Beheira Governorate. He has described himself as "a son of the July Revolution", and cited Gamal Abdel Nasser as his childhood hero. He served in the Egyptian armed forces from 1965-74, a time period that saw Egypt's involvement in the Six-Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. After leaving the military, he worked as a literary editor for Al Musawwar magazine, becoming deputy editor-in-chief in 2000.His most famous novel, War in the Land of Egypt, was selected by the Arab Writers Union as one of the best 100 Arabic novels of the 20th century. The novel is set during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and criticizes the Egyptian government's corruption - prompting the Sadat regime to ban the book. The novel became available in Egypt in 1985, and was the basis for the 1991 film of the same name, starring Omar Sharif. An English translation was published by Interlink in 1997, by Olive Kenny, Lorne Kenny, and Christopher Tingley.
Literary themes and style
Al-Qa'id is also known for his writing in vernacular Egyptian Arabic. His 1994 novel Laban el-Asfur was the first major Arabic vernacular novel of the modern era. Although criticized for his language choice at the time, vernacular novels in Egypt have been relatively uncontroversial since.Member of Parliament
In 2015, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi appointed Qa'id to the country's parliament. In 2019, he announced that he had stopped writing novels because he was too busy with his parliamentary duties.Qa'id is a staunch supporter of President Sisi.
Works
NovelsMourning News of Al-Manisi Village Days of Drought Hibernation There Are Seven Days in a Week Happening in Egypt Now War in the Land of Egypt Complaints of the Eloquent Egyptian Night of Love and Blood Who's Afraid of Camp David? Beloved Country White Hearts The Pain of Distance Bird's Milk Ruins of the Day 24 Hours Only Train to Upper Egypt UnknownShort story collectionsDrying Tears Stories from Poor Countries Who Remembers the Other Egypt? Laughter is No Longer Possible Impossible Crying Peasants Ascend to Heaven Tarh al-Bahr
Other worksVoices of Silence The Red Book: My Journey in the Autumn of the Soviet Dream
- ''From the Nile Papers ''