This a visceral, extremely emotional novel about a woman in Egypt who is forced to do a terrible thing and is sentenced to death. You meet her in prison, and she does not ask for your forgiveness, and that is perhaps the most unsettling part about it.

I read this novel in high school. I have mixed feelings about it, because I think it is an important book to read for its subject matter, perspective, and sheer immediacy. I did not, however, find I could sympathise with the main character on any level (harsh, perhaps, but that was my indictment at the time). There are some things that are simply unforgiveable.

That being said, I was impressed by this quote I found from el-Saadawi:

‘Danger has been a part of my life ever since I picked up a pen and wrote. Nothing is more perilous than truth in a world that lies.’