I think the third novel, Miramar, is the best of the three. One of those multiple-viewpoint narratives, with political and cultural lessons on Egypt thrown in. I would have gotten a lot less out of it without the translator’s footnotes, though. Something about ideological intrigue and historical references doesn’t travel well through space and time without a guide.

I’m reading it a little more rapidly now that school is over and sometimes seamus gets up and leaves before i get up and i don’t want to go back to sleep (it seems wrong) so i reach over and grab the book on top.

I finished the Thief and the Dogs. yow.

It’s a book beside the bed. I only go to bed once a day, and i’m often sleepy or distracted or both.

I’ve reached the end of the first story. It feels different from other novels, but i’m not enough of a lit person to tell you why. It makes me want to know more about Arabic literature.