Love in the Kingdom of Oil

by Nawal El-Saadawi; Translated from the Arabic by Malcolm Williams

• ISBN13: 9780863563379
• ISBN10: 0863563376
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2001-10-05
• Publisher: Al Saqi

Summary

A woman disappears without a trace. The police commissioner investigating the case enquires: was she of dubious morals, was she the rebellious sort? Nobody understands how a woman could simply walk away from it all, leaving husband and home behind. After all, in the 'kingdom of oil' where 'His Majesty' reigns supreme, no woman has ever dared disobey the command of men. When she finally reappears there is a blurring of the distinctions between the men in her life. She leaves one to become the wife of another, and when she eventually returns to her first husband, she finds he has taken a new wife. In many ways, to her all men are one and the same . . . In this rich novel El-Saadawi dares anew to confront major issues and questions surrounding a woman's role and position in a repressive, patriarchal order.

Author Biography

Nawal El-Saadawi is an internationally renowned Egyptian writer and feminist. After studying psychiatry in Cairo, she practised medicine both in Egyptian cities and in the countryside. She became director of health education in Egypt, but her writing made her increasingly the focus of controversy. Her book Woman and Sex, published in 1972, dealt openly with subjects considered taboo. Several of her novels have been translated into English, as well as some of her studies of women in the Arab world. Her novels Two Women in One and Memoirs of a Woman Doctor are also published by Saqi Books.