This is very much a book of the moment, but Soueif integrates her rapid diary-like account of the 18 days of the Eygptian revolution with memories and anecdotes of her beloved Cairo that add an additional personal, emotional dimension. She is very aware that she is writing a story that will have added many more chapters by the time her readers receive it. There is an oddity to that, but that doesn't mean it's not worth telling us about her experience of the early stages of it. Also, she explicitly conceives of the book as itself a contribution to the ongoing Revolution. One thing it certainly does is work against cynicism and enlist us all over again on the side of the brave, idealistic people who held Tahrir until they brought down the Mubarak regime.