The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution

I grew up in Cairo not far from where the author lived in Zamalek. As such I have mixed feelings: on the one hand the book is a wonderful read, on the other hand there are enough loopholes in the authors understanding of the culture and language to cast serious doubts about the scholarly quality of the work.

The book is a wonderful read and I really enjoyed the two interwinding stories; the ancient Egypt (specially Akhenaten) and the modern Egypt and the Arab Spring. The author brings interesting perspective and draws insightful parallels. The author tries to frame his own experience in the context of established research. For example (and much to his credit) he visited one of Cairos inner-city slums, meet with the residents, and describes how his experience relate to the general patterns as described in David Sims work on the Cairo Slums (Al Ashwaiaat) .

However, as the author acknowledged, he started learning Arabic a few months before he travelled to Egypt and spent the better part of five years in Egypt. In that vein, the book is best viewed as someones experience living in Egypt during a very eventual five years. It takes more than five years to produce a astonishing portrait of a country and its people. One needs a lifetime of scholarly work and peer review to achieve that fate.

Some Loopholes/misunderstanding of the culture and language.

1) May 15th bridge was named after the 1948 war,=> no it was named after Sadats alleged correctional “revolution” (that’s what he called it).
2) Nasser died of cancer, no he did not. He died of heart disease.
3) Canal is British controlled, it was French and the British government bough that Egyptian shares.
4) Sayyid can haul more than seventy pounds. I am not sure where the precise figure came from did the author actually weight the canvas sack?
5) Ful is fried beans. This is not accurate, its a is a stew of cooked fava beans.
6) The authors superficial understanding of Arabic is highlighted by his translation of Morsis statement Cleanliness comes from faith . The Arabic verse that Morsi quoted is Al nazafa min el Iman which means that Cleanliness is part of faith. Again, the goal is not to pick on specific sentences but rather to make a point: if the syntax is flawed (the facts) the semantics (the message of the book) are suspect.
7) The author does not consider alternate explanations. A case in point is the secular April 6th protestors assembling in front of the Mustapha Mahmood Mosque. It is certainly possible that the picked the location because the mosque was the only recognizable landmark. An alternate explanation is that the mosque was in the middle of a square and that the square not the mosque was the identifying landmark. It very common in Egypt to construct mosques in or around central landmarks (Rabaa, Al- Qaed Ibrahim Square,.. ).

Mr. Hessler nailed it. He captured a picture of Egypt that I caught a glimpse of as a recent tourist. In February I joined a tour of Cairo and the Nile and we were the first group hosted by the tour company since the Arab Spring. Egyptian history and culture is fascinating so I was interested in reading a more in-depth description which is why I chose this book. The author writes a behind the scenes narrative of politics, relationships, religion and humanity while weaving in ancient Egyptian history. I was impressed an outsider from the West could write a book with such brilliance. Egypt is a unique place and the Mr. Hessler does an excellent job of describing the good and bad of this complex society. His discussion about the wearing of the niqab reminded me of the lady with five kids in tow who wanted her picture taken with my blond wife even though her face is fully veiled. Read this book to learn more about a country that will always be in the news.

In his usual bottom-up approach, Peter Hessler stitches together a life touched by many other lives, this time on the Nile. Don’t be intimidated by the title “An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution,” the stories are very accessible, the characters come alive on the pages, the language is simple and moving, and the author’s humor is always a good company. He contrasts the ordinary with the profound, personal vs. historical, Neheh (time of cycles) vs. Djet (time of the gods), China vs. Egypt vs. U.S. vs. Germany, individual vs. family vs. nation, men vs. women, crossing and erasing barriers.

I am really touched by how much emphasis is put on the subject of women. It seems like the fate of the Egyptian revolution is deadlocked at the stiff gender relation within the walls of a family. In the end, Peter Hessler’s description of Wahiba (the garbage collector Sayyid’s wife) tossing a coin into the hole to make a wish gives her so much agency and freedom it almost brought me to tears. Life-giving completes the cycle from the beginning to the end of the book. I wish the cover of the book is a picture of a smiling Wahiba.

I can’t wait to read what Peter Hessler’s wife Leslie Chang has to say about her experience living in Egypt and her observation of Egyptian female workers.

A magnificent work of narrative journalism. I spent two weeks in Egypt in 1998 but have not been back since. Hessler brings the country to life, mainly by focusing on the stories of some of the key people he came to know from the five years he spent living in Egypt with his wife, the author Leslie Chang, and their twin toddler daughters. While Sayyid, Manu, and Rifaat came from very different backgrounds and professions, you can feel the similarities in his overall descriptions of Egyptians (a certain shared mentality cutting across all classes), something almost impossible to capture. I found it a very nuanced and fascinating portrayal, and at the same time learned so much, especially about the history of the country and the shifting political landscape. For anyone interested in learning more about Egypt, the Middle East, past and present, especially its people, this book is for you.

As a long-time fan, I can say that this book is well up to Peter Hessler’s usual high standards. As before, he combines insights into the distant past with the experiences of someone living in the turbulent present. We get to know Manu, Sayyid and Rifaat as real people, with their reactions to the public and private events dominating their lives. I was baffled by the review which complained that there were many more facets to Cairo – of course there are: no one person could write a single book about London or Beijing or Rio. Instead, be grateful for a perceptive and humane take on the Mother of the World.

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