The Queue

Basma Abdel Aziz is a psychologist who specializes in the effects of torture, and you can tell in this book. While never gratuitous the violence and pain the characters suffer feels more real than other books of this genre. If you love Orwell or Kafka this book is for you.

This book is an amazing treasury of the nerves feelings and trepidation that we all feel about governance in intrusive countries. I cannot believe that the author was able to touch this nerve exactly. Very thoughtful and an excellent read. Thanks for writing this. I will recommend this book for my children.

Great book-- captures reality in some countries.

Powerful. This will make you think about your life.

A very interesting insight into how a dictatorial government slowly takes over all the actions, and decision making powers of its captive population. A study in the persuasive/invasive powers of an absolutist regime.

Think “1984”.

A stark warning about authoritarianism, written in a quiet, chilling tone.

Did not really have an ending! Just started out dreary and then stopped before any subplots reached conclusions. Rather frustrating.

In The Queue, Egyptian author Basma Abdel Aziz creates a fictional Middle Eastern country in the aftermath of a fictional Arab Spring. Appearing unannounced after a popular uprising, the Main Gate of the Northern Building regulates daily life through a system of paperwork, permits and authorisations. Everything – eating, drinking even window shopping – is subject to its control. With it now in place, the ruler fades from public view, leaving behind three new security units: a Deterrence Force to guard the Gate, a Concealment Force to guard the military-run Zephyr Hospital and a well-armed Quell Force to suppress riots. After a second wave of protests (propagandistically dubbed the Disgraceful Events) is crushed, the Gate is closed. Life comes to a halt and an enormous queue forms, waiting for it to reopen. Among them is Yehya Gad el-Rab Saeed, shot during the Disgraceful Events and desperately in need of medical attention to remove a bullet lodged in his abdomen – only removing bullets without permission from The Gate is a criminal act, for The Gate has decreed no shots were fired that day….Being a fan of dystopian literature, I really wanted to like the novel, yet it never developed into a compelling story. For me, it was held back was the thin characterisation. Beyond a desire to obtain Yehya’s X-rays, they lacked any strong motive, which seemed surprising giving the turbulent events. Most frustratingly, they were never allowed to speak, with the narrator telling us what they said, how they felt and what they did, deadening the story. The ending in particular felt like a damp squib.A modern-day Egyptian take on dystopia, The Queue is certainly worth reading. However, I can’t help feeling it could have been so much more.

A tale about issues too often seen in the world today. I loved Basma's style of writing and am sorry I couldn't read it in the original Arabic!

This story is a great dystopia. Somehow 1984-like, somehow frightening real and imminent. Although literarily not incredibly well written, this book is gripping and you cannot stop reading.

Very depressing.