The novel reveals the lives of the customers of a Tunisian café that offers prostitution services, detailing their dreams and illusions upon the demise of Bin Ali's regime
Bab El-Leil (The Night’s Door), by: Waheed El-Taweela, Beirut and Morocco: Al-Ikhtilaf and Difaf. 2013.
Egyptian writer and Journalist, Waheed El-Taweela, has just released his third and latest novel: Bab El-Leil (The Night’s Door).
Notably, this represents a new model of joint publication in the Arab world, as it was published in cooperation between the Lebanese publishing house Al-Ikhtilaf and the Moroccan publisher Difaf.
The novel’s protagonist is a seductive Tunisian woman who owns a famous café that uses prostitutes to attract customers. The author, who resides in Tunisia, sheds light on the "small" and private lives of the cafés customers, revealing different and versatile human experiences.
The novel’s events take place upon the demise of the ousted Tunisian president, Bin Ali.
It gives a new view on the countries of the Arab west, like Tunisia and Morocco, which has been widely marginalised in Egyptian literature, through a glowing yet cynical language to weave the tales of his characters, who pursue happiness and pleasure.
Wahed El-Taweela, Egyptian writer and journalist, born in 1960 now resides in Tunisia. He published two short stories collection Khalf El-Leil Bikalil (A little behind night) and Kama Yaleeq Bi Ragol Qasir (As Befits a short man).
https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/78784.aspx