Shahaama: Five Egyptian Men Tell Their Stories

by Nayra Atiya, Roger Allen (Afterword), Andrea Rugh (Introduction)

Between the late 1970s and the early 1980s, Nayra Atiya gathered the oral histories of five Egyptian men: a fisherman, an attorney, a scholar, a business- man, and a production manager. Through personal interviews over the course of several years, Atiya intimately captured the everyday triumphs and struggles of these young men in a rapidly changing Egyptian society. These tender stories of childhood experiences in the rural countryside, of the rigors of schooling, and of the many challenges in navigating adulthood shed light on both the rich diversity of Egyptian society and the values and traditions that are shared by all Egyptians. The concept of "shahaama" a code of honor that demands loyalty, generosity, and a readiness to help others is threaded throughout the narratives, reflecting its deeply rooted presence in Egyptian culture. Moving beyond leaden stereotypes of the oppressive Middle Eastern male, these candid self-portraits reveal the complexity of male identity in contemporary Egyptian society, highlighting the men s desires for economically viable lives, the same desires that fuel the many Egyptians today working toward revolutionary change."

154 pages, Paperback

Published March 8, 2016

About the author

Nayra Atiya is an American oral historian, writer, and translator born in Egypt. She is the author of Khul-Khaal: Five Egyptian Women Tell Their Stories (1984,) winner of the UNICEF Prize, and Shahaama: Five Egyptian Men Tell Their Stories (2016)

Reviews

[Karlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone interested in Egypt would enjoy these five oral histories. The author interviewed a variety of men from various circumstances in Cairo. The stories took me back to Egypt of the 60s when we lived there, so I especially enjoyed them. I could feel the noisy crowds and smell the jasmine. Khul-Khaal, an oral history of Egyptian women, appeared in 1982 and is still in print. This book may prove as lasting.

[Douglas Thorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice book. Read after traveling to Egypt.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Khul Khaal more than I enjoyed this. I really enjoy oral histories and I found many of these stories to be really interesting. I found it weird that some of the stories were so long and some were only a couple of pages. Ordering them from longest to shortest made the reading experience a bit uneven.