The Tent is a beautifully written, powerful, and disturbing novel, featuring a host of women characters whose lives are subject to the will of a single, often absent, patriarch and his brutal, foul-mouthed mother. Told through the eyes of a young girl, the lives of the Bedouin and peasant women unfold, revealing the tragedy of the sonless mother and the intolerable heaviness of existence.
Set against trackless deserts and star-filled night skies, the story tells of the young girl's relationship with her distant father and a foreign woman who is well-meaning but ultimately motivated by self-interest. It provides an intimate glimpse inside the women's quarters, and chronicles their pastimes and preoccupations, their stories and their songs.

Takes the reader inside the wounded hearts and minds of a group of Egyptian Bedouin women.

About the Author

Miral al-Tahawy is the author of The Tent (AUC Press, 1998) and Blue Aubergine (AUC Press, 2002). She is professor of Arabic at the School of International Letters and Cultures, Arizona State University.

Anthony Calderbank has lived in Egypt for many years and has had a long interest in Arabic language and literature. He currently teaches English at the American University in Cairo.

Book Information
ISBN 9789774245428
Author Miral al-Tahawy
Format Paperback
Page Count 140
Imprint The American University in Cairo Press
Publisher The American University in Cairo Press
Weight(grams) 205g