Butterfly Wings

by Mohamed Salmawy, Raphael Cohen (Translation)

A chance encounter on a plane throws together Doha, a fashion designer unhappily married to a leading figure in the Mubarak regime, and Ashraf, an academic and leading dissident. The story of their relationship and Doha's self-discovery runs alongside a young Egyptian's search for the mother he never knew, and these intersecting narratives unfold against the background of political protests that culminate in the overthrow of the regime.
A moving and at times humorous story, Butterfly Wings is an extended allegory of Egypt's modern experience of authoritarian rule and explores the fractures and challenges of a society at the moment of revolutionary transformation.
Mohamed Salmawy's almost prophetic novel was first published in Arabic immediately prior to the events of 25 January 2011, and has been celebrated as 'the novel that predicted the Revolution.'

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Mohamed Salmawy is a leading Egyptian intellectual whose writings are widely read throughout the Arab World. He is the former president of the Writers Union of Egypt and the secretary general of the General Union of Arab Writers. A former editor-in-chief of a number of leading publications, including the widely circulated independent news-paper Al-Masry Al-Youm, he is one of Egypt’s most prominent columnists, play wrights and novelists.

Literary works
Notable titles include Butterfly Wings, translated by Raphael Cohen, and The Last Station: Naguib Mahfouz Looking Back, translated by Andy Smart. His literary writings have been widely translated, and his novel “Butterfly Wings” (AUC Press, 2014) predicted, when it first appeared in Arabic in 2010, the 2011 Revolution that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

Awards
He is the recipient of a number of prestigious decorations from France, Italy and Belgium; and his books have received a number of literary awards. Salmawy received the Prestigious Medal of Honor of Palestine from Mahmoud Abbas, the President of Palestinian Authority on 22 November 2017.

Reviews

[Noha Badawi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Butterfly Wings is a page-turner novel that highlights a period of time when Egypt was struggling through the collision of political and social worlds. Told from different POVs of characters, flashbacks and little bit of romance, Butterfly Wings tells the story of different type of people in the Egyptian society during the time of 2011 – 25th January’s revolution. From the beginning you can feel the tension wrapping itself around the story line, the oppressed Egyptian masses threatening to explode and overthrow the regime. It moves on to the daily life of the characters and how each is looking to find them true selves and break free of their social chains. By the end you can see how – no matter their differences – they all came together in the same place, demanding and the same things.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe the original Arabic version is worthy of the praise on the back cover but the English translation was hard to read.

While the plot itself could have been exciting (although I hate the idea that a woman can only become politically awakened through a relationship with a man), the writing was pretty bad and I did not find the characters particularly real or believable. From page one, one cliche (a rich fashion designer who lacks meaning in her life) meets another cliche (an left-wing intellectual who loves the people and the people love him). In short, nothing about this book is subtle. Nothing is left to the imagination of the reader. The author tells you how the characters feel at every second of the book. Everything is told, nothing is showed. Only Ayman's older brother has any kind of complexity. The other characters have no flaws and the will of the people is one (which is never the case in politics!).

All that being said, I still wanted to keep reading to the end, perhaps hopeful for happier ending than what has actually transpired in real life.

[Micaela Pereira · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up to 3.

This was an easy read and the story was easy to follow, touching on important topics regarding democracy and politics. However, the story lines and characters could have benefited from more depth vis-à-vis how they experienced the various events (ie the emotions they felt).

I do not regret reading the book, and appreciate that it was set in Cairo, which is why I round up to 3.

[Katie Mcsweeney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting topic but the writing wasn’t for me - all tell and no show!

[Sydney Willems · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story, a bit cheesy. Translation was a bit clunky

[Anto_s1977 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Al Cairo c'è fermento politico, stanno, infatti, per risvegliarsi le coscienze che porteranno allo sboccio della primavera araba. In questo contesto storico-polititico Doha, moglie di un funzionario del partito al governo e stilista affermata, intraprende un viaggio di lavoro verso Roma. Il fato dispone sul posto accanto al suo, sull'aereo della compagnia egiziana, il più grande oppositore del partito al governo, il professore Ashraf al-Ziny.
Questo incontro si rivela fondamentale per la donna, che, sebbene non si sia mai interessata alla politica, prende coscienza del proprio ruolo di cittadina, che ambisce alla libertà di idee, di espressione e, soprattutto, a quella personale.
Il tema del romanzo è estremamente interessante e la vicenda di Doha è abbastanza coinvolgente, tuttavia si svolge parallelamente a quella di Ayman, un ragazzo alla ricerca della madre e delle proprie origini, che non si intreccia in nessun modo con quella della protagonista. In tutta sincerità non ho apprezzato questo racconto slegato, che poco ha a che fare, a meno che non abbia colto io il nesso logico, con la vicenda politica. Per quanto coinvolgente emotivamente questa storia parallela, non trovo la narrazione ben amalgamata, né necessaria, pertanto il mio giudizio non è pienamente positivo .

[cascaballs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this book. It was assigned for a class but I loved experiencing the Egyptian revolution in the fiction perspective of both the rich and the poor. The ending of the brother confused me, but otherwise I liked the “good” ending

[Gabrielle (Estel.Edits) · Rating 3 out of 5]

IG @elle_reads

BOOK REVIEW⁠
[Butterly Wings] A fashion designer turns to politics.⁠
//⁠
WHAT I LIKED⁠
Butterfly Wings is called 'the novel that predicted the [Egyptian] Revolution.' I can see why. It delicately pieced apart and back together the views of opposing sides with a strong call to action of the people.⁠
//⁠
I enjoyed Doha's self-discovery through her travel in Egypt and abroad. Each character plays with the butterfly motif at some point. Her fashion design was my favorite. I learned about native Egyptian butterflies! Maybe I'll see some in Luxor's tombs.⁠
//⁠
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE⁠
The dialogue can be clunky. The plot is cliche, but I found it more as a device for exploring the feeling of political and social awakening.⁠
//⁠
Butterfly Wings (by Mohamed Salmawy, translated by Raphael Cohen) ⚡️⚡️⚡️3/5⁠
//⁠
...⁠
...⁠
...⁠
...⁠
⁠
#elle_reads2021

[Alessandro Argenti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Libro senza alcuna personalità. Vengono rappresentate due storie, per nulla legate fra loro e di natura diversa, e uno si aspetta che prima o poi si intreccino, invece non succede. Una termina in modo talmente scontato che già dalla terza pagina puoi immaginartelo. La seconda semplicemente non termina mai e si conclude lasciando a metà ogni interrogativo. Oppure c'è un seguito a questo libro che io non conosco... Peccato, perchè tuttavia è scritto piuttosto bene, in modo semplice e scorrevole, ma la trama è agghiacciante.

[Houssam Sabry · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing novel written before the January 2011 revolt. You will be surprised on the author's capability of seeing the future so vividly. Intricate details of how the revolt would take place makes you wonder, how did he know that? It is a must to read and enjoy it.

[Giusy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scorre veloce. Storia semplice. Scrittura semplicistica e senza pretese. Un romanzetto.

[Virginia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Una farfalla senza ali sarebbe stata un insetto come gli altri; ma le ali la elevano a un rango più alto, incoronandola come l'animale più bello e magico dell'universo.