The 2011 Egyptian revolution has undoubtedly sparked more art, expression, creativity and literature than Egypt has seen in the past thirty odd years. While some have been inspiring, some have also choked the revolution to the point of boredom. It is with absolute relief and delight to say that the Liberation Square: Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation by Ashraf Khalil is not of the latter.
An Egyptian-American journalist and writer based in Egypt for the past fifteen years, Khalil has been a correspondent for the likes of Los Angeles Times, The Times and The Economist. For his first book, Khalil has framed the revolution into an entertaining and educational read.
Khalil divides the book into twenty parts, including the prologue and epilogue. Starting at the beginning of all that has lead to our current situation; Khalil sheds light on the sequence of events and essentially how and why everything came to be. The rise of Mubarak after Sadat’s assassination is where the story begins, and Khalil moves chronologically through Egypt's history, leading up to today.
Moving through the chapters, the reader is given a very clear and precise account of everything that aided the revolution and added to its necessity, such as the Kefaya movement’s development and Khaled Said’s monstrous death. It’s informative, easy to read and, above all, engaging. Khalil voices a very genuine and truthful angle to events; his sources and references are directly from the people involved and paints a sincere picture. His accounts are often quite moving, where you find yourself smiling at the memory of an event or touched by the humanness that prevailed over much of the revolution.
This is what’s most enjoyable about this book. It highlights the beauty in the uprising, the human hope and the undeniable warmth of the Egyptian people. While he retells events that are simply unjust and frustrating, the story being told is bigger than that. It's a thoughtful representation and description of the movement and is told from a view point most revolutionaries would relate to.
Details that we either are unaware of, or have simply disregarded and forgotten, are given in relation to Mubarak and his rise to power. The fact that he was somewhat of a joke to the Egyptian people prior to his presidency, where he was regarded as complacent and uncharismatic, is an aspect most of the younger generation isn’t plainly aware of.
For anyone interested in getting to know the Egyptian revolution and how it actually played out down to the smallest details and side stories (which are not only relevant but highly interesting), Liberation Square is a highly recommendable read.
