Mekkawi Said (1955–2017) was an award-winning writer from Cairo. His first collection of short stories appeared in 1981, and his first novel won the Suad Sabbah Arab Creativity Prize in 1991. Cairo Swan Song was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (the “Arabic Booker”) in 2008.With a PhD from Oxford University, Adam Talib is currently an assistant professor at Durham University. He is an award-winning literary translator and has translated, among others, Khairy Shalaby and Raja Alem.

"For all of Mekkawi Said’s characters’ bad decisions, false starts, and negative pursuits, it is their humanity that ultimately crystallizes and redeems them as characters, fascinating characters. The translation by Adam Talib is vibrant and totally engaging, but by the last page of the novel, it is Said who has pulled this gigantic mishmash of material together and left us with another indelible picture of Cairo."—CounterPunch“A crafted mosaic of Egypt’s educated middle classes.”—The Independent

Mekkawi Said (1955–2017) was an award-winning writer from Cairo. His first collection of short stories appeared in 1981, and his first novel won the Suad Sabbah Arab Creativity Prize in 1991. Cairo Swan Song was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (the “Arabic Booker”) in 2008.With a PhD from Oxford University, Adam Talib is currently an assistant professor at Durham University. He is an award-winning literary translator and has translated, among others, Khairy Shalaby and Raja Alem.

"For all of Mekkawi Said’s characters’ bad decisions, false starts, and negative pursuits, it is their humanity that ultimately crystallizes and redeems them as characters, fascinating characters. The translation by Adam Talib is vibrant and totally engaging, but by the last page of the novel, it is Said who has pulled this gigantic mishmash of material together and left us with another indelible picture of Cairo."—CounterPunch“A crafted mosaic of Egypt’s educated middle classes.”—The Independent