Declarations by Alaa Al Aswany that it wasn’t he who was critical of Egypt and its rulers, but his leading character, fell on deaf ears. That was 10 years ago and the work is only published now that Al Aswany has become an author of international repute with his successful novels The Yacoubian Building and Chicago.

The stories in this collection focus on the real people who fill Cairo’s teeming streets. Very often, these characters are struggling against personal hardship, dealing with the disappointment of lost dreams and ambition, or just fighting to find their place in the world. These very personal stories are beautifully set against the chaos and contradictions of life in modern Egypt, a place itself grappling with its own identity, politically, socially and religiously.

Al Aswany does not flinch from the injustices and cruelties of his society but he also resists the temptation to glorify or sesnsationalise them. This is just the way it is.

Alaa Al Aswany is a fine writer with a beautifully nuanced touch and a sharp eye. These stories are universal, and could be set anywhere, but the Cairo backdrop is so beautifully drawn that it becomes a key character, influencing everything that happens.

I can think of few contemporary Arab writers that make it into English, either penned in English or in translation. That dearth makes Alaa Al Aswany even more of a treasure. – Harper Collins, $27.99