I Do Not Sleep

Ihsan Abdel Kouddous (1919–90) is one of the most prolific and popular writers of Arabic fiction of the twentieth century. Born in Cairo, Egypt, Abdel Kouddous graduated from law school in 1942 but left his law practice to pursue a long and successful career in journalism. He was an editor at the daily Al-Akhbar, the weekly Rose al-Yusuf, and was editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram. The author of dozens of books, his controversial writings and political views landed him in jail more than once.Jonathan Smolin is the Jane and Raphael Bernstein Professor in Asian Studies at Dartmouth College in the US. He is the translator of several works of Arabic fiction, including Whitefly by Abdelilah Hamdouchi and A Rare Blue Bird Flies with Me by Youssef Fadel.

"[One] of the best new works from around the world"—The Irish Times"This 1950s Egyptian epistolary novel is told by a young woman looking back on the misery, patriarchy and middle-class life that surrounded her upon her return from boarding school."—New York Times Book Review"Kouddous . . .wrote fiction about the Arab world way ahead of its time, pared down and powerful."—LitHub"Fresh, unpretentious and irresistibly cinematic"—ArabLit"A must-read book set in Cairo"—Electric Literature"A classic of Egyptian Literature. It's great that books like this are being published and that Ihsan Abdel Kouddous' work is available to the English reader in such a good translation."—Raphael Cormack, author of Midnight in Cairo"Ihsan Abdel Kouddous was a great novelist, a pioneer journalist, and a progressive activist who long fought for women’s rights and secular democratic values."—Alaa Al Aswany, author of The Yacoubian Building“He is like Stephen King, Anna Wintour, Lorne Michaels, J. K. Rowling, Alfred Hitchcock and Ta-Nehisi Coates loaded into one person.”—Mikey Muhanna, Ehkili: Books & Literature from the Arab World, afikra"Abdel Kouddous enriched Egyptian literature and cinema with everlasting works"—Egypt Today“Ihsan is an artist”—Tawfik al-Hakim, author of Return of the Spirit“Abdel Kouddous enriched the world of Arab culture.”—Sky News Arabia“What sets Ihsan Abdel Kouddous apart is his ability to combine, on the page, the different overlapping threads of politics and society.”—Al-Shorouk“The novel I Do Not Sleep represents a turning point in Ihsan Abdel Kouddous’s narratorial style.”—Hafriyat