The Bachelors of Egypt Book Reviews and Excerpt

The Bachelors of Egypt is a recently published contemporary novel set in Egypt 2011.

Book Synopsis:

Two brothers facing regular life challenges during an irregular time of a Nation's history, after their parents passed away, they both had no one but each other. Karim, the older brother, works as a Senior Marketing Executive for a Multinational Corporate, "Macky". An energetic young man with ongoing career accomplishments and a social life full of joyful moments post working hours. Karim’s brother Ali is an ambitious Media student aiming to use his future profession as a tool to make the world a better place after graduation. 

Timeline of the story (2011-2012):

In Egypt, the year 2011 marks a brief Era of Enlightenment (post the Jan 25th revolution), with booming figures of book readership, and Internet usage, when most citizens had an increasing interest "To Know", along with mixed feelings of Fear, Hope, Belonging, and Excitement... regardless of their affiliations and beliefs. Liberal voices were rising in a society commonly-believed to be conservative, existential struggles started hitting many minds within the middle class; why are we alive? And what is worth dying for? were among the popular questions. Debates about Economic Stability, Justice, Feminism, Emigration, right and left wings’ ideologies were all integrated within a single scene... bringing all taboos up for discussion. 

The book is 90% fictional, 10% factual, and it's the reader's responsibility to differentiate.

Social Media’s Impact on Modern Societies and World Events

Back in 2011, the trendy social media channels in the US and Europe were starting to trend in Egypt and other countries of the Arab world. Incidents referred to as the “Arab Spring” and the Egyptian revolution of 2011 helped increase users’ adoption of Facebook, Twitter, and the internet in general.

People were curious to experience these platforms, especially that politics was dominating the cultural scene in Egypt, and a rising debate on traditional media channels was whether “Facebook created the revolution”.

Egyptian Society: The Good, The Bad & The Sexist

First things first, the pharaohs are dead; this article highlights a few unique elements of the modern Egyptian culture. More specifically, the cultural elements shared among the citizens of Greater Cairo.

Based on my answer to What is the relationship between you and Egyptian culture?

It may take years to answer this question, so I’ll just extract a few aspects of the Egyptian culture from an article about The Bachelors of Egypt Novel, with a brief comment in bold on each point.

• Black humor is the most popular form of communication among Egyptians, laughing out loud at the biggest of their problems. Big fan + General practitioner :)

Mohamed Mahmoud Incidents: The Bachelors of Egypt

Mohamed Mahmoud incidents occurred in Egypt 2011, between November 18^th and 25^th; days and nights of continuous clashes between army/police forces on one side and rebels on the other. One of the revolutionary waves that ran in the background of social interactions in The Bachelors of Egypt Novel, with quotes from fictional characters that reflect on real life social conflicts within this period of time.

Do Egyptians Like President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi?

The popularity of a ruling regime is usually determined by a set of political, economic and social factors in a nation. Within the Egyptian society, the economic deterioration under president Sisi deprive the state from tangible reasons of popularity. Adding the current lack of political awareness/interest to the equation gives the biggest weight to political branding as the determining factor for the president’s popularity. 

This article is aimed at establishing a link between components of the Egyptian culture and the emotional aspects of president Sisi’s image, and it’s based on my answer to Why do Egyptians like the current Egyptian President,"el-Sisi"?

Corporate Life and Politics: The Bachelors of Egypt

Literary works have tackled multiple aspects of corporate life, based on the time and place where they’re set. As a contemporary/ historical fiction novel set in Egypt 2011, The Bachelors of Egypt reflects on work conditions and communication within modern Egypt. Unique aspects of the Egyptian society influenced the formation of its distinctive corporate life, yet a few elements will always remain constant across cultures.

Nationalism and National Exceptionalism: The Bachelors of Egypt

The Bachelors of Egypt is a contemporary novel set in a time of extreme national pride within the Egyptian Society. Egypt 2011 didn’t only mark the Egyptian revolution, but also witnessed the spread of political interest/awareness among the country’s citizens, with consequent clashes between protesters and Army/Police forces being the top discussion across Egypt.

This post is a part of a factual series of articles aimed at reflecting on the fictional incidents of “The Bachelors of Egypt”; apparently “Nationalism” is today’s topic.

Understanding The Egyptian Revolution(s) 2011-2013

The Egyptian revolution of 2011 overthrew President Hosny Mubarak after 18 days of protests. The former President delegated his powers to the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) on February 11^th 2011. More than a year later, SCAF handled elections, and Muslim Brotherhood figure “Mohamed Morsy” became the next Egyptian President on June 30^th 2012. A year later, he was also overthrown, after two days of protests June 30^th 2013- July 3^rd 2013.

Egyptian Revolution 2011: The Bachelors of Egypt

The Bachelors of Egypt is a contemporary novel set in Egypt 2011, with a timeline starting on September 2011, about 8 months after overthrowing the former president Hosny Mubarak. With main focus on characters’ social interactions within the Egyptian society; dialogues, incidents, and unique aspects of the Egyptian culture could all be used to reflect on human lives elsewhere.

Philosophical Legacy: The Bachelors of Egypt

The Bachelors of Egypt is a contemporary novel set in Egypt 2011 that covers multiple philosophical topics within its dialogues and incidents. Post the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, politics, economics, philosophy, sociology… gained massive interest among members of the middle class, and were casually integrated within daily debates and discussions.

Kobo review problem: The Bachelors of Egypt

The Bachelors of Egypt

is a contemporary novel set in Egypt 2011, (previously) available on Kobo and Amazon. Till now, the book has only gained 5 stars ratings… except for a single review “made by mistake” on Kobo, dating back to July 29, 2017.

Despite the reader’s attempt to remove the unintended review, Kobo didn’t allow its deletion. 

Lovely book:

This is to rectify prior review which was meant for a different purchase. The company didn't want to delete it even though I informed them within minutes that I've made a mistake; An interesting take on issues and modern Egypt very different than UK. Please accept my sincere apology. Martha

by Martha Holiday on August 04, 2017

The Bachelors of Egypt on Amazon

The Bachelors of Egypt

The Bachelors of Egypt is a contemporary novel set in Egypt 2011, a narrative of a few bachelors’ lives in Modern Egypt, their hopes, fears, interactions and how they fit within the “Boxes” of the Egyptian society. Introducing a mix of love, fun, career progress, casual dating, vacation trips in a timeline of blood, anarchy, tyranny, economic instability, and consequent clashes post the Egyptian revolution of 2011.

Books sample available for review:

The Bachelors of Egypt on Amazon

In this article:

1- The Egyptian Society: - Helpful tips to understand the social structure.

2- Marriage in Egypt: - Social and economic complications associated with marriage, along with marital trends over the years, and traditional social judgments.

3- The Egyptian Revolution of 2011:- reviving a dissolving piece of history.

4- The main topics covered within the incidents and dialogues of “The Bachelors of Egypt”.

5- The Bachelors of Egypt- Book chapters.