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  • The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz book cover
  • The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz book cover
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The Queue

by Basma Abdel Aziz

Waiting on authority in a post-uprising Egypt

$18.53 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

Waiting on authority in a post-uprising Egypt

Set in a modern-day Egypt reshaped by a failed popular uprising, the novel organizes its conflict around the Gate, an authority that controls access to everyday necessities but remains closed to those seeking permission. The queue brings together citizens from different walks of life, while Yehia’s lodged bullet turns bureaucratic refusal into a matter of medical urgency. His doctor, Tarek, faces a choice between following protocol and acting outside the law. The premise links state power, public waiting, and the consequences of official denial through a single contested medical case.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • For readers interested in dystopian fiction grounded in a recognizable political setting.
  • For readers drawn to stories about bureaucracy, authority, and access to medical care.
  • For readers who value novels that place ethical decisions within political conflict.

Themes

State authority and bureaucracyPolitical aftermath of a failed uprisingMedical access and official denialDuty, law, and ethical choice

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"In a surreal, but familiar, vision of modern day Egypt, a centralized authority known as 'the Gate' has risen to power in the aftermath of the 'Disgraceful Events, ' a failed popular uprising. Citizens are required to obtain permission from the Gate in order to take care of even the most basic of their daily affairs, yet the Gate never opens, and the queue in front of it grows longer. Citizens from all walks of life mix and wait in the sun: a revolutionary journalist, a sheikh, a poor woman concerned for her daughter's health, and even the brother of a security officer killed in clashes with protestors. Among them is Yehia, a man who was shot during the Events and is waiting for permission from the Gate to remove a bullet that remains lodged in his pelvis. Yehia's health steadily declines, yet at every turn, officials refuse to assist him, actively denying the very existence of the bullet. Ultimately it is Tarek, the principled doctor tending to Yehia's case, who must decide whether to follow protocol as he has always done, or to disobey the law and risk his career to operate on Yehia and save his life"--
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