The Committee (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780815607267)

This wry take on Kafka's novel The Trial revolves around its narrator's attempts to petition successfully the elusive ruling body of his country, known simply as "the Committee." Consequences for his actions range from the absurd to the hideous.

Ibrahim offers an unbroken first-person narrative rendered in brief, crisp prose framed by a conspicuous absence of vivid imagery. Furthermore, the petitioner is a man without identity. The ideal antihero, he remains, as does his country, unnamed throughout the intricate plot with a locale suggestive of 1970s Cairo.

The Committee pierces the inflammatory terrain between ordinary men, unbridled displays of power, and other broader concerns of the author's native Egypt. The novel's corrosive, shocking conclusion catapults satiric surrealism into a new realm.

Author: Sonallah Ibrahim
ISBN-10: 0815607261
ISBN-13: 9780815607267
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Language: English
Published: 11/01/2001
Pages: 176
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.61lbs
Size: 7.38h x 5.50w x 0.73d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/29/2001 pg. 34
Booklist 11/15/2001 pg. 547
New York Times 12/16/2001 pg. 7
Library Journal 12/01/2001 pg. 172
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2002 pg. 73