{"product_id":"the-automobile-club-of-egypt","title":"The Automobile Club of Egypt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSecond-Hand\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eExcellent condition\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA rollicking, exuberant and powerfully moving story of a family swept up by social unrest in post-World War II Cairo.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce a respected landowner, Abd el-Aziz Gaafar fell into penury and moved his family to Cairo, where he was forced into menial work at the Automobile Club - a refuge of colonial luxury for its European members.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere, Alku, the lifelong Nubian retainer of Egypt's corrupt and dissolute king, lords it over the staff, a squabbling but tight-knit group, who live in perpetual fear, as they are thrashed for their mistakes, their wages dependent on Alku's whims. When, one day, Abd el-Aziz stands up for himself, he is beaten.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSoon afterwards, he dies, as much from shame as from his injuries. Leaving his widow and four children further impoverished. The family's loss propels them down different paths but they remain tightly connected to the Automobile Club.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is at the Club, too that dangerous politics find the favour and patronage of the king's seditious cousin and unlikely revolutionary plotter-cum-bon vivant. Soon, both servants and masters will be subsumed by the brewing social upheaval.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd the Egyptians of the Automobile Club will face a stark choice - to live safely, but without dignity, or to fight for their rights and risk everything.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFull of absorbing incident, and marvellously drawn characters, \u003cem\u003eThe Automobile Club of Egypt\u003c\/em\u003e gives us Egypt on the brink of changes that resonate to this day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eIt is an irresistible confirmation of Al Aswany's reputation as one of the world's most beguiling storytellers and insightful interpreters of the human spirit. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alaa Al Aswany","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42242970255529,"sku":"","price":9.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/9518\/0962\/products\/auto.jpg?v=1653715525","url":"https:\/\/roseyravelstonbooks.com.au\/products\/the-automobile-club-of-egypt","provider":"RoseyRavelston Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}