Amira Badawy

The novel weaves together three journeys from Subaltern Records, where playing the Nay instrument serves as their connecting thread during three distinct times in Egypt’s history, aiming to unveil the untold stories of those marginalized. The first journey unfolds at the beginning of the 21st century with a rural girl, whose innocent eyes bear witness to a groom who has publicly exposed his bride’s hymen on a napkin. Moving to a slave ship from the 19th century, we follow the escape journey of the bondmaid “Khaleda” then the story of a peasant’s rebellion against the soldiers of Muhammad Ali Pasha escaping conscription in his army. Afterward, we learn about the story of laborers riding a trailer, their service in the army during the October War in 1973, and how they survived it. Because it is a never-ending story of escape, we return to the rural girl, now matured on the threshold of Tahrir Square in 2011.