Shaghaf (Passion) by Rasha Adly, El Shorouk Publishing, Cairo, 2025, pp.365.
Although the novel was first released abroad in 2017, Adly described the new local edition as “a special moment,” saying it feels “as if the book is being published for the first time.”
During the event, Adly traced the development of her writing journey from 2010 until today, emphasizing that her path has always been rooted in a love for reading, research, and the pursuit of knowledge.
She recalled the challenges she faced early in her career, particularly the claim made by some publishers that readers were no longer interested in historical fiction.
However, Adly persisted. “History is an art,” she said, explaining that the genre offers rich layers, especially when intertwined with her passion for art and visual culture.
As an art historian and lecturer, Adly’s novels often blend the emotional depth of fiction with precise historical detail. Her works, including The Last Days of the Pasha (2019), You Shine… You Illuminate (2022), and Passion, offer dual layers of artistic and historical representation.
Passion moves between two intertwined timelines: the contemporary world of art restoration and the Cairo of the French Expedition in the late 18th century.
The story begins in the present with an art conservator who uncovers a mysterious strand of hair hidden inside an old painting.
This discovery launches an investigation into the identity of the woman portrayed, a young Egyptian named Zeinab, depicted by an anonymous French painter.
The narrative then shifts to Zeinab’s life during the French occupation, where she becomes entangled in a forbidden and delicate relationship with a French officer.
Through her story, Adly explores themes of power, desire, injustice, and the silenced lives of women who rarely appear in recorded history.
Adly described Passion as a turning point in her career, “a force that pushes forward,” because it attempts to restore a forgotten voice and highlight the injustice and ignorance faced by its protagonist.
One of the main threads running through the discussion was Adly’s fascination with “writing what lies beyond history,” presenting events from alternative perspectives and reviving narratives overlooked by dominant accounts.
The discussion was moderated by Sayed Ismail Deif-Allah, a literary critic, who explored the evolving role of female authors in the Arab world over the past decades.
He found it striking that Passion presents a form of platonic love between the colonizer and the colonized and questioned whether such a relationship could truly exist within that turbulent historical context.
Deif-Allah also highlighted the novel’s ethical dimensions, including the rejection of harassment, the honouring of women, and the insistence on human dignity, emphasizing how these themes resonate both historically and in contemporary discourse.
One narrative choice that particularly impressed the audience was Adly’s use of an omniscient narrator for most characters while assigning first-person narration to a single figure. This decision adds intimacy, contrast, and psychological depth to the storytelling.
Throughout the evening, many attendees, among them poets, critics, artists, and longtime friends of the author, remarked on Adly’s distinctive, poetic writing style.
Some praised her lyrical description of places, characters, and events, and others admired the emotional precision behind her sentences, noting how she blends historical scholarship with sensitivity.
The evening concluded with a warm celebration, photography, and a book signing.
Attendees formed a long line to have their copies of Passion signed by the author, turning the event not only into a literary discussion but a heartfelt tribute to a novel that inspires readers, critics, and lovers of history alike.
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