Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
A journey inside the wounded hearts and minds of a group of Egyptian Bedouin women
The Tent is a beautifully written, powerful, and disturbing novel, featuring a host of women characters whose lives are subject to the will of a single, often absent, patriarch and his brutal, foul-mouthed mother. Told through the eyes of a young girl, the lives of the Bedouin and peasant women unfold, revealing the tragedy of the sonless mother and the intolerable heaviness of existence.
Set against trackless deserts and star-filled night skies, the story tells of the young girl’s relationship with her distant father and a foreign woman who is well-meaning but ultimately motivated by self-interest. It provides an intimate glimpse inside the women’s quarters, and chronicles their pastimes and preoccupations, their stories and their songs.
"A bleak but beautiful tale"—Lonely Planet
Miral al-Tahawy is the author of The Tent (AUC Press, 1998) and Blue Aubergine (AUC Press, 2002). She is professor of Arabic at the School of International Letters and Cultures, Arizona State University.
Anthony Calderbank has lived in Egypt for many years and has had a long interest in Arabic language and literature. He currently teaches English at the American University in Cairo.