Drumbeat

The whole native population of a small Gulf emirate leaves for France to support its national football team, and the country is left to the people who work for it, migrants of many nationalities. One of them, an Egyptian far from his wife and haunted by her memory, finds himself the confidant of Zahiya, a fellow Egyptian living with a local family, who first tells him other people's stories and then the secret she can no longer keep. The novel walks the line between realism and fantasy to describe the alienation of guest workers in the Gulf.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Length

132 pages in the original

Genres

Migration (assigned by AI)

First published

2005 by Dar al-Hilal

Author's age

68 when first published

ISBN

9789770711538 (original)

9789774163395 (American University in Cairo Press, Egypt)

9789774167331 (American University in Cairo Press, Egypt)