Just finished #IbrahimAbdel's 'No one sleeps in Alexandria'. It has some really bravura episodes. There is an odd (and irritating) magical realist current that doesn't really go anywhere. The protagonist is wonderfully passive which gives the book its beautifully disjointed tone. Major world events, largely the second world war, are juxtaposed with the mundane and the trivial, because to the inhabitants of Alexandria it really it is a war for someone else's empire. It captures something profound about the little person's importance and importance. It is also on the side of love and friendship.
Not quite sure what to make of it, but I enjoyed it very much.