The 2011 revolution, the First Intermediate Period, then the era of Morsi, and the Second Intermediate Period, then the presidency of current President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi—so begins the ancient to modern parallel timelines of Peter Hessler’s newest literary work The Buried. Throughout the last few years, Hessler’s work would make its way to my social media feeds. Initially, I knew nothing about the journalist and writer whose interests—modern day eastern countries and ancient civilizations—would perfectly align with mine. Curiously enough, one day, I decided to read his New Yorker article about the late Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, which I found to be replete with a narrative much like that of fictional stories. Immediately, I was hooked, so I proceeded to read every single piece of Hessler’s online work. Dining with a friend one day, he told me to read Hessler’s The Buried, calling it an excellent and thought-provoking read. Similar to my experience, Hessler takes on the Middle Eastern country directly after the Arab Spring. And, also like me, he spent a couple of years living in China, fascinated with its ancient and contemporary history, so his decision to move…
Review: Hessler’s ‘The Buried’ Captivatingly Captures the Essence of Egypt’s Political Turmoil and History
November 28, 2019
