The Tyranny of ‘True Stories’: Iman Yehia’s ‘The Mexican Wife’
“Iman Yehia’s novel, The Mexican Wife, turns into a literary whodunit, propelled by a quest for the truth about Yusuf Idris’ past.”
“Iman Yehia’s novel, The Mexican Wife, turns into a literary whodunit, propelled by a quest for the truth about Yusuf Idris’ past.”
The photos were a part of the text, and I did not describe them. They give artistic touches so that the reader can feel their ache and circumstances. It is enough to tell you that this novel could not have been published if I had not found a good picture of Hassan Fouad’s “We Defend the Constitution” poster. The discovery of this old, forgotten poster deserves a whole novel.
“By God, we’ll turn them out of Egypt dancing and singing all the way . . .”
I have never found translations of Yusuf Idris completely satisfying (because I fear the translator, perhaps?). I think this is something that has hindered world appreciation of Idris, who—whatever his mental-health and jealousy issues might have been—is a tremendous short-story writer.
According to the Emerging Writers Network (as well as a few lit mags and media outlets), May is not just the month of workers and flowers, but is also Short […]