“Cairo and Alexandria were cosmopolitan not so much because they contained foreigners, but because the Egyptian born in them is himself a stranger to his land,” quotes a memorable line from Waguih Ghali’s timeless 1964 semi-autobiographical novel ‘Beer in the Snooker Club’. Although this novel has been around for years, and many may already be familiar with it, it is one of those stories worth re-visiting- if only just to experience a glimpse of an Egypt that is vastly foreign to us, yet all too familiar all at the same time. Ghali was a Coptic Egyptian writer from Alexandria who grew up during the politically charged era of Egypt’s transition from being a monarchy, occupied by Britain, to adopting a nationalist regime following the 1952 revolution and Gamal Abdel Nasser’s takeover. Being one of the very few Egyptian writers of Coptic background, perhaps the only other Coptic Egyptian writer who is relatively known being fellow Alexndrian-bred fictional writer Edwar el Kharrat, this religious aspect also plays somewhat of a role in how Ghali perceived himself and the world around him. His experience in growing up amidst this hodgepodge of culture…
An Intimate Portrayal of Post-Colonial Egypt with Waguih Ghali’s ‘Beer in the Snooker Club’
August 28, 2020
