Nocturnal Creatures of Sadness
Mohamed al-Refai
Nocturnal Creatures of Sadness follows the life of hero Yahya. It opens with some bizarre events from his childhood, from the story of Ali ibn al-Aashara, who disappears from the town of Mahala al-Wasaaya, to the beautiful Saffiya who sets fire to herself and Ibrahim who loses his leg. We then follow Yahya as a young man, as he volunteers to fight in the 1967 war out of his love for Egyptian President Gamal Abd al-Nasser. However, defeat in the war means that his illusions quickly fade.
Nomination
2012 Longlist
Mohamed al-Refai
Country of origin Egypt
About the author
Egyptian writer Mohamed al-Refai is a cultural critic based in Cairo. He has written for the magazine Sabah al-Khairsince 1980 and won the Mustapha and Ali Amin Prize for Journalism for his weekly column in 2000. He is also the author of a number of books on the theatre, including Palestine in Egyptian Theatre and Experiments in Arab Theatre.