March 15, 2022
Set in contemporary Cairo, this character-driven novel introduces former Air Force Captain Ni' Mat, who is besotted by beauty. When readers first encounter him, he is surreptitiously ogling the comely teenage boys swimming in his club's pool. Later, returning home, it strikes him for the first time that his teenage Nubian houseboy, Islam, is beautiful. Before too long, the two begin having sexual relations, confirming that the captain is a khawala, a passive homosexual. Interestingly, the boy seems to enjoy the physical act as much as the older man, who has just turned 60. Perhaps inevitably, the captain's wife discovers the truth, and soon the two are divorced. And then, the captain, besotted now by not only beauty but also love, asks Islam to move into his new apartment with him. Can anything good come of this in a rampantly homophobic society like Egypt's? Leftah examines both this question and the meaning of virility in Egypt. The book is thought provoking and engaging, with well-realized characters and a satisfying conclusion.
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April 4, 2022
An unexpected sensual awakening lies at the center of this alluring English-language debut from late Moroccan critic and novelist Leftah (1946–2008). With his military career cut short by a failed 1967 expedition to Yemen many years earlier, Captain Ni’mat plods through a comfortable retirement in Cairo with his wife, Mervet. Daily swims at the pool represent a welcome escape from his idleness, though he’s disturbed by the dreams he has about the supple young men who dart around him there. Is his recognition of male beauty the work of Satan? Curiosity and desire prompt him to further explore. Under the hands of his young Nubian houseboy Islam, who obeys orders without protest, the captain crosses an erotic line, then another, and another. Far from scared off, Ni’mat dives deeper into erotic exploration with Islam, despite his society’s deep homophobia, and even engages in a tryst at the pool with a middle-aged man. Inevitably, this secret activity leaks out to Mervet, who doesn’t abandon her husband, but banishes Islam and demands separate bedrooms. Leftah’s measured prose draws out the characters’ emotions without indulging too much in erotica. The result is graphic and sensuous without being prurient, and a piquant exploration of masculinity, gender, societal taboos, and the nature of love.