A fascinating book and a great pleasure to read: Betool Khedairi is a talented new voice in fiction.

Illiteracy does not impede the practice of democracy, as witnessed by the success of democracy in India despite the high illiteracy rate. One doesn't need a university diploma to realize that the ruler is oppressive and corrupt. On the other hand, to eradicate illiteracy requires that we elect a fair and efficient political regime.

I am according to my slave's expectations of me: if good, then good, and if bad, then bad.

Revolution is like a love story. When you are in love, you become a much better person. And when you are in revolution, you become a much better person.

Everything that happened to you is a page that's been turned and is done with.

Egyptians are like camels: they can put up with beatings, humiliation and starvation for a long time but when they rebel they do so suddenly and with a force that is impossible to control.

If you can't find good in your own country, you won't find it anywhere else.