Taxi (book)
Encyclopedia
Taxi is a collection of 58 short stories by Khaled Al Khamissi
, first published in December 2006.
A book dedicated "to the life that lives in the words of poor people." Taxi is a journey of urban sociology
in the Egypt
ian capital through the voices of taxi drivers. Through recounting the stories of different taxi drivers he encounters, the author offers some insight into contemporary Cairo and Egypt.
to achieve success. A tradition of writings in dialect
has always existed in the Arab world, but colloquial Arabic has never achieved real literary approbation. However, in recent years a new generation of young Arab authors—including Mohamed Salah al-'Azab, Ahmed al-Aidi, Ahmed Naghi, Tareq Imam and Nail al-Tokhi—has begun an innovative literary movement known as al-Riwaya al-Gadida (The New Novel), linked to the phenomenon of bloggers. In this context, Taxi is an important literary achievement because it has become a bestseller. Not only was it reprinted 7 times in one year, it sold more than 75,000 copies in a country, Egypt
, where 3,000 books sold is considered a success. Not only does this book play a large part in the revival of dialect
in contemporary Egyptian literature, it delves into important socio-political issues.
Taxi has been translated into English by Jonathan Wright
and was published by Aflame Books in 2008.
Khaled Al Khamissi
Khaled Al Khamissi is an Egyptian novelist, writer, producer and director. He is currently based in Cairo, Egypt and is a contributing journalist to Al Shorouk newspaper.He has written two novels; Taxi and Noah’s Ark...
, first published in December 2006.
A book dedicated "to the life that lives in the words of poor people." Taxi is a journey of urban sociology
Urban sociology
Urban sociology is the sociological study of social life and human interaction in metropolitan areas. It is a normative discipline of sociology seeking to study the structures, processes, changes and problems of an urban area and by doing so providing inputs for planning and policy making. Like...
in the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian capital through the voices of taxi drivers. Through recounting the stories of different taxi drivers he encounters, the author offers some insight into contemporary Cairo and Egypt.
Writing
Taxi is the first Egyptian book written mainly in dialectDialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
to achieve success. A tradition of writings in dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
has always existed in the Arab world, but colloquial Arabic has never achieved real literary approbation. However, in recent years a new generation of young Arab authors—including Mohamed Salah al-'Azab, Ahmed al-Aidi, Ahmed Naghi, Tareq Imam and Nail al-Tokhi—has begun an innovative literary movement known as al-Riwaya al-Gadida (The New Novel), linked to the phenomenon of bloggers. In this context, Taxi is an important literary achievement because it has become a bestseller. Not only was it reprinted 7 times in one year, it sold more than 75,000 copies in a country, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, where 3,000 books sold is considered a success. Not only does this book play a large part in the revival of dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
in contemporary Egyptian literature, it delves into important socio-political issues.
Taxi has been translated into English by Jonathan Wright
Jonathan Wright (translator)
Jonathan Wright is a British journalist and literary translator. He studied Arabic, Turkish and Islamic civilization at St John's College, Oxford. He joined the Reuters news agency in 1980 as a correspondent, and has been based in the Middle East for most of the last three decades...
and was published by Aflame Books in 2008.
Reviews
The book has received some positive reviews:- "It's a book about the petty, daily frustrations of Egypt's working poor as they scratch out a living in the almost unworkable metropolis of CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. It's a book to make you feel guilty you ever tried to bargain down a cab fare in any poor country." - "A novel that dresses down sharp social and political commentaries into the simple words of work-a-day taxi drivers, a rather daring approach here as censorship is a real issue. But his daring has sent the book flying off shelves."
- Taxis brilliance is that it captures the point at which cabs cease to be just a means of transportation and instead become a space for debate and exchange."
- Taxis plucksstartling beauty and poetry out of the cacophony of everyday life. Khaled Al Khamissi reawakens our dulled sense of wonder, outrage, and sorrow, and that is anawesome achievement."