Scan barcode
adrianagoraieb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
audibleswhore's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
apfelahmed's review against another edition
2.0
نجمة للثورة و نجمة للذكريات السيئة و الشجون التي انتابتنا ... غير ذلك. هذه رواية غاية في الققر و الركاكة و شخصيات مبتذلة من العديد من المسلسلات المصرية في عصر التسعينات
wayneg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Melodramatic, almost soap operatic in its style and scope, this is a chilling story of how the Egyptian revolution was curtailed by the army. It’s best at drawing a vivid and different cast of characters, although the enthusiasm of the young is too clearly going to be crushed by disappointment. The depressing part of this is how all the characters come to believe that Egypt is Egypt because its population simply lacks the character to create a society that is neither corrupt or tolerant of inequality
beuckelssen's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
mahmoud_radi's review against another edition
1.0
بعد رواية متوسطة المستوى وجدت طريقها إلى السينما بفيلم جيد (عمارة يعقوبيان)، ورواية شديدة السوء كنت اقرأها مسلسلة في جريدة الدستور واعتبرها من اسوأ ما قرأت في حياتي ومجرد تكرار لخلطة سابقتها (شيكاغو)، ورواية ثالثة لم أتجاوز صفحاتها اﻷولى بعد استحضار علاء اﻷسواني لعدد من شخصيات روايته في مطلعها لكي يتحدثوا معه عن عبقريته وروعته ويخرون له سجدًا ويسبحون له حمدًا باﻹضافة إلى مقدمة لا صلة لها بالرواية عن اختراع السيارات (نادي السيارات)، تأتي الرواية الرابعة (جمهورية كأن) التي لم اتجاوز هى اﻷخرى فصلها اﻷول أو الثاني.
من المدهش أن الزمن يمر، واﻷحوال تتغير، والعالم يتبدل، ولا يزال علاء اﻷسواني على نفس حاله لم يتحرك قيد انملة عن نفس الخلطة التي صنعت اسمه، ونفس التنميط اﻷحمق للشخصيات، ونفس الصراخ والجعير، بل وأن يتخيل أن روايته كهذه سيكون لها نفس وقع رواية (1984) لجورج أورويل، من أين له بهذا اليقين بالضبط؟
ملحوظة رقم 1: لم أرهق نفسي بالحديث للمرة المليون عن الفارق بين كتابة الرواية وكتابة المقال السياسي، للتوضيح يرجى العودة لمراجعتي عن رواية (كل هذا الهراء).
ملحوظة رقم 2: اﻷفضل أن نسمي هذه الرواية (رواية كأن)
من المدهش أن الزمن يمر، واﻷحوال تتغير، والعالم يتبدل، ولا يزال علاء اﻷسواني على نفس حاله لم يتحرك قيد انملة عن نفس الخلطة التي صنعت اسمه، ونفس التنميط اﻷحمق للشخصيات، ونفس الصراخ والجعير، بل وأن يتخيل أن روايته كهذه سيكون لها نفس وقع رواية (1984) لجورج أورويل، من أين له بهذا اليقين بالضبط؟
ملحوظة رقم 1: لم أرهق نفسي بالحديث للمرة المليون عن الفارق بين كتابة الرواية وكتابة المقال السياسي، للتوضيح يرجى العودة لمراجعتي عن رواية (كل هذا الهراء).
ملحوظة رقم 2: اﻷفضل أن نسمي هذه الرواية (رواية كأن)
slimbooks's review against another edition
Page 1 through 5: it's nice to think that people have this kind of serenity and routine around religion. A life of being grateful and giving due to a high purpose, it's it's nice to read.
urbanheron's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall enjoyed this book which gave me more of an insight into the 2011 Revolution, which I knew very little about. But it did drag on a bit and could have been more condensed (I took a break to read a more light-hearted book, which helped). Also I couldn't help comparing it to another book of Aswany's I'd read, The Yacoubian Building, which I remember finding more compelling and character-driven. Nevertheless I found it an interesting exploration of the different views among Egyptian people about the Revolution (including among its participants), how they changed over time and the 'behind-the-scenes' of the ways in which the state tried to manipulate the public during that Spring.
tagoreketabkhane31's review against another edition
5.0
A book banned in much of the greater MENA region, "The Republic of False Truths" is both a historical novel, but also at times a satirical take on the motivations and outcomes of the Tahrir Square protests and the revolution that occurred in Egypt during the Arab Spring that resulted in the toppling of the Hosni Mubarak regime, and the subsequent period of military control before the advent of the Mohammed Morsi government under the Muslim Brotherhood.
Al Aswany chose the moniker "The Republic of False Truths" to be the name of his novel because that is what one of his characters calls the country of Egypt as they are leaving the country at the end of the novel to escape the brutality of the military crackdown occurring in the country. The moniker works; from the rule of law, the religiosity of the Egyptian people, and indeed, even the third person narrator at times presents the readers with "truths" that quickly become clear that they are lies.
The novel follows a cross section of Egyptian in Cairo located in and around Tahrir Square, the ground zero for the revolution in Egypt. From members of the Government, the propaganda media wing, students, Muslims, Copts, Atheists, rich and poor, men and women - all become caricatures of real Egyptians and their motivations during 2011 when the Mubarak regime initially fell in those chaotic months. Sprinkled in between are "eye witnesses" that Al Aswany uses to remind the reader that though this is a work of fiction, the brutality that was employed by the Egyptian military after the resignation of Mubarak to ensure that the Egyptian state and its institutions maintained their version of order, is what happened during those times. Even now, 10 years after the initial Arab Spring, Egypt now is just where they were when the protests first started.
For Al Aswany, nothing is above ridicule. His signaling of not only the religiosity of the many Egyptians in the novel are some of the best parts of the novel - where the frank discussions on religion and sex, power and consent are examined in the context of the revolution and Egyptian life, with the result being a harrowing look at the lengths that the state will go to ensure control of the citizenry.
The novel, even translated, is very much an Egyptian novel, focusing on the characters and working to craft a narrative that shifts based on the character in each chapter. One of the more satisfying aspects of the novel is the format that Al Aswany utilizes for the conclusions in his novel - they are reminiscent of the fate of thousands of Egyptian protestors as they chanted, fought and bled for their ideals and country only to be crushed by the Republic that they could not recognize.
Al Aswany chose the moniker "The Republic of False Truths" to be the name of his novel because that is what one of his characters calls the country of Egypt as they are leaving the country at the end of the novel to escape the brutality of the military crackdown occurring in the country. The moniker works; from the rule of law, the religiosity of the Egyptian people, and indeed, even the third person narrator at times presents the readers with "truths" that quickly become clear that they are lies.
The novel follows a cross section of Egyptian in Cairo located in and around Tahrir Square, the ground zero for the revolution in Egypt. From members of the Government, the propaganda media wing, students, Muslims, Copts, Atheists, rich and poor, men and women - all become caricatures of real Egyptians and their motivations during 2011 when the Mubarak regime initially fell in those chaotic months. Sprinkled in between are "eye witnesses" that Al Aswany uses to remind the reader that though this is a work of fiction, the brutality that was employed by the Egyptian military after the resignation of Mubarak to ensure that the Egyptian state and its institutions maintained their version of order, is what happened during those times. Even now, 10 years after the initial Arab Spring, Egypt now is just where they were when the protests first started.
For Al Aswany, nothing is above ridicule. His signaling of not only the religiosity of the many Egyptians in the novel are some of the best parts of the novel - where the frank discussions on religion and sex, power and consent are examined in the context of the revolution and Egyptian life, with the result being a harrowing look at the lengths that the state will go to ensure control of the citizenry.
The novel, even translated, is very much an Egyptian novel, focusing on the characters and working to craft a narrative that shifts based on the character in each chapter. One of the more satisfying aspects of the novel is the format that Al Aswany utilizes for the conclusions in his novel - they are reminiscent of the fate of thousands of Egyptian protestors as they chanted, fought and bled for their ideals and country only to be crushed by the Republic that they could not recognize.