The novel was previously selected for the longlist of the 2024 Khairy Shalaby Literary Award.
Set in a surreal reimagining of 1960s Cairo, the novel blends historical atmosphere with fantasy. It centres on the “General Company for Happiness”, a fictional state-backed institution tasked with producing and distributing happiness through an official bureaucratic system. The company’s repeated failures spark rumours of a secret committee formed to investigate its performance.
As scrutiny intensifies, employees are drawn into a mounting crisis that forces them to confront a dilemma: become scapegoats for a collapsing illusion or deliver a five-year rescue plan within a single month to restore happiness to millions of citizens. Workplace pressure escalates into an existential struggle marked by fear, absurdity, and moral reckoning.
Nabil is best known for his work in social and comedic drama across television, cinema, and theatre, with a career spanning more than two decades.
In television, he wrote and co-wrote several popular series, including all seasons of the long-running comedy Ragel wa Set Setat and multiple instalments of Tamer & Shawqeya. His credits also include El Eyada (2008), Rob‘ Meshakel, Rob‘ Meshakel Extra Spicy (2012), and Haramet Ya Baba (2010). He served as head writer on Lamma Tamer Sab Shawqeya and contributed to the drama series Qeyd Aily (2019).
In cinema, Nabil wrote the feature film The Dictator (2009).
His theatre work includes productions such as Ikhtef Meraty Wlak Tahyaty and A Bride from an Electronic Source, staged in recent seasons, including performances under Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season.
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