Taxi

Translated from the Arabic, Khaled al Khamissi has written a novel bringing together fictional dialogues with Cairo's cabbies - 'Taxi's 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' - Foreign Policy

'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 Cairo. It's a book to make you feel guilty you ever tried to bargain down a cab fare in any poor country.' - Chicago Tribune

'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. - Christian Science Monitor

'Taxi plucks startling 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 an awesome achievement.' - Baheyya.blogspot.com

Description:

Underscoring the most diverse species on the planet - the taxi driver - this striking portrait unveils the polluted, unforgiving streets of Cairo, a city that simply refuses to stand still. Bringing together 58 fictional monologues from Cairo cabbies, recreated from actual experiences while traversing the city, this novel takes readers on a roller coaster of emotions as bumpy and noisy as the city's potholed and chaotic streets. Described as an urban sociology, an ethnography, a classic of oral history, and even a work of poetry in motion, these narratives tell tales of the struggle for survival and dignity among greater Cairo's 80,000 cab drivers. Written in a rich colloquial, this unique anthology combines poignant self-reflections with the authentic insights of the man on the street.