Alley of Umm Reda

About this book

Behind the walls of 'Umm Reda's alley' and its narrow lanes, bodies alone do not dwell; souls crouch, each with a tale never fully told. In this collection of stories, 'Wafaa Mohaisen' takes us on a wondrous human journey, beginning from the silence of old apartments where loneliness 'buys a bride' to dispel the wilderness of age, and not ending at the clamor of neighborhoods celebrating a wedding that washes away the sorrows of years. Here, opposites meet; where 'halal' dwells in the heart of 'Al-Sioufy,' who realized that justice is the scale of hearts before minds, and where 'Li Lio,' the Chinese woman, becomes an inspiration to an Egyptian young man chasing his dream from Imbaba to the skyscrapers of China. In a sound literary style touching the conscience, we dive into the corridors of the human psyche: we witness 'Layla's' struggle with the fog of schizophrenia, weep for 'dreams under the rubble' in the wounded alleys of Gaza, and stand astonished before 'the deception of trust' and the curses of regret left by reckless moments. They are stories of the loyalty embodied by a dog awaiting its departed owner, and of the struggle of 'Hanem,' who.