{"product_id":"rotten-evidence-reading-and-writing-in-an-egyptian-prison-9781952119835","title":"Rotten Evidence: Reading and Writing in an Egyptian Prison","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn February 2016, \u003cb\u003eAhmed Naji\u003c\/b\u003e was sentenced to two years in prison for \"violating public modesty,\" after an excerpt of his novel \u003ci\u003eUsing Life\u003c\/i\u003e reportedly caused a reader to experience heart palpitations. Naji ultimately served ten months of that sentence, in a group cell block in Cairo's Tora Prison. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eRotten Evidence\u003c\/i\u003e is a chronicle of those months. Through Naji's writing, the world of Egyptian prison comes into vivid focus, with its cigarette-based economy, home-made chess sets, and well-groomed fixers. Naji's storytelling is lively and uncompromising, filled with rare insights into both the mundane and grand questions he confronts. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHow does one secure a steady supply of fresh vegetables without refrigeration? How does one write and revise a novel in a single notebook? Fight boredom? Build a clothes hanger? Negotiate with the chief of intelligence? And, most crucially, how does one make sense of a senseless oppression: finding oneself in prison for the act of writing fiction. Genuine and defiant, this book stands as a testament to the power of the creative mind, in the face of authoritarian censorship. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e McSweeney's\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/17\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781952119835\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 263\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.72lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.04h x 5.57w x 0.51d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/07\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/22\/2023 pg. 1\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/05\/2023\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Ahmed Naji","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52259591717045,"sku":"9781952119835","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_c4dcc81d-f1e0-4df1-8812-d09b482c3f5d.jpg?v=1771342362","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/rotten-evidence-reading-and-writing-in-an-egyptian-prison-9781952119835","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}