ISBN-13: 9789628673247
Paperback: 304 pages
Size: 18.4 x 13 x 2.1 cm
Published: March 2006

Price: HK$95 / US$11.95
Choose your location:

Free shipping

+ US$6.00

NEW!
Look inside this book
Click on the links below to view sample pages from Once Upon a Time in Cairo. You will need a pdf reader to view these excerpts.

One  Two  Three  Four 

Once Upon a Time in Cairo
by Sayed Gouda
FICTION

Cairo, 1948. Two families lay claim to a plot of land on which they share a house. The ruthless master of El-Wehda Street takes the side of Musa against El-Arabi, and an honest man dies defending his shop. Three generations live through conflict, celebration, betrayal, murder and, finally, love… 

Amina cannot blind her sons to the beauty of Delilah’s daughters, but do they have the right to love if justice does not prevail? Can Safwat rise above 'an eye for an eye'? Will he choose peace -- or seek a just revenge? 

Ostensibly a story about an ongoing struggle between two families over three decades, the book is also a carefully constructed allegory of the wider Middle East conflict.

Author Sayed Gouda is this century’s answer to Naguib Mahfouz, the Nobel laureate who immortalized the everyday life and concerns of Egypt’s working-class society.

Available now in bookshops. Or order online securely with any credit or debit card, or with Paypal, by clicking the Add to Cart button on the left. For other methods of payment, please see here.

MEDIA ATTENTION

Journey of discovery
Sayed Gouda was interviewed by Lydia Samir of the Cairo Community Times. Read the story here.

A pleasure to read
"Gouda's is a detailed vision of the lives, thoughts and actions of residents of a corrupt and competitive Cairo neighbourhood. There is social and historical commentary here, too, on Islamic societies, on the role of religion, and on the use of violence to defend it… His assured, self-effacing style, offering many lively images, is a pleasure to read." -- Gillian Bickley, Sunday Morning Post, 16th July 2006. Read the full review.

Carefully constructed allegory
An item about Once Upon a Time in Cairo appeared in the Culture column of the Middle East Times.

Hong Kong poets in Cairo
Led by Sayed Gouda, a group of poets from Hong Kong and China travelled to Cairo to read poems with their Egyptian counterparts. Their work was published in Akhbar Al Adab, Egypt’s leading literary weekly. See photos from the tour here.

Poet takes a novel approach to history
-- P. Ramakrishnan, South China Morning Post
Award-winning poet Sayed Gouda found the switch from Arabic to English much easier than the recent challenge of moving from poetry to prose. "I have lived here in Hong Kong for the past 13 years and lost touch with the written Arabic language," he says with a laugh.
After 20 years as a poet, and with works published in Egypt's respected literary journal Akhbar Al-Adab, Gouda has released his first novel,Once Upon a Time in Cairo. A leading figure in Hong Kong's literary community -- he organises Arabic Nadwah, a monthly reading of Arabic poetry at the Fringe Club -- Gouda, 37, says the novel reflects the way his work has changed since he arrived in Hong Kong in 1992. 
"The first writer who really opened the door for me to read English literature was Thomas Hardy -- it was Return of the Native," says the translator and accountant for the Kuwait consulate. "I loved his style. I later discovered that he was also a poet. I can see that he has chosen every word carefully. I see them as poetic novels." 
Set in 1948, Once Upon a Time in Cairo follows three families living in one house. Each family claims ownership of the property, and their animosity spreads across generations. Gouda describes it as a parable of the Middle East. 
"It's a symbolic novel," he says. "Each character resembles a country or a leader in the Middle East. And each chapter deals with a certain period of our modern history." 
The novel starts in 1948, when Israel took over Palestinian land. The other sections are based in the historically important years of 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1981. Gouda tears out a page from his notebook and draws diagrams. "The character Delilah -- she represents Israel itself," he says. "The master of the district is El-King, the king. By that I mean Britain, the kingdom. 
"In the old times, there used to be a master for the street or the district itself -- a master who collects protection tax on people, a master who protects the family who claims the room. This overseer was Britain at first. In time, like an old lion who goes away, El-King loses power. The character of a sultan comes in -- a new master. That's America. All the names of the characters have more than one meaning. In Arabic, all names mean more than what the syllables are." 
Although the symbolism is clear, Gouda says the message of the book is kept vague. "Before creating any sort of art -- whether it's a poem, a novel, a painting or a piece of music -- should I have a message to convey to the reader? The answer in my opinion is, `Not necessarily'. Even if there's a message, I shouldn't reveal it," Gouda says. "I can only convey it wrapped in my work of art and leave it to the reader to unfold it and understand it in any way he likes. 
"To be neutral is not an easy task, I have to admit, especially when I know that my countrymen will read it. But as a writer, I must be unbiased. I don't expect everyone to understand the story in exactly the same way as I do. It's almost impossible. I wrote it as a novelist, not a historian. If the reader enjoys it as a novel, I'm happy."