It is the most diverse species on the planet and it inhabits the polluted, unforgiving streets of Cairo, a city that simply refuses to stand still. The taxi driver is an urban omnivore whose high-speed colours, habits and moods reflect all surrounding life, and yet pass it by, in the bustling flora and fauna of the Egyptian capital. Khaled Al Khamissi's "Taxi" is a remarkable journey into the lives and labyrinths of this beast of burden that has become a best-selling modern masterpiece in the author's home country. "Taxi" brings together 58 fictional monologues with Cairo cabbies recreated from the author's own experience of traversing the city. The experience takes the reader on a roller-coaster of emotions as bumpy and noisy as the city's potholed and chaotic streets.Described as an urban sociology, an ethnography, a classic of oral history - and a work of poetry in motion - "Taxi" tells Herculean tales of the struggle for survival and dignity among Greater Cairo's 80,000 cab drivers. A wing-mirror that reflects both on modern Egypt and on the human condition, it plucks from the rush-hour sandstorm a feast of drivers' recollections, memories, personal stories, lies, loves, hates, dreams and philosophical adventures.Translated by Jonathan Wright, "Taxi" is a unique work combining the authentic insights of the man on the street with the poignant self-reflections of members of a caste who have little or nothing in common. Written in a rich colloquial that departs with a slam of a dented door from the literary language Egyptian writers commonly employ, it has been credited with reviving an interest in reading as it has become an instant best-seller, topping the sales charts in Arabic-speaking markets. "Taxi" will be released to the English market to co-incide with Arab countries being the market focus of the 2008 London Book Fair.
Taxi (English edition)
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"Taxi plucks startling beauty and poetry out of the cacophony of everyday life. It arranges it for us to contemplate and appreciate, not as a way to elide the injustices and indignities that permeate life, but as a necessary yet all too rare counterpoint. Khaled Al Khamissi reawakens our dulled sense of wonder, outrage, and sorrow, and that is an awesome achievement." - Baheyya.blogspot.com
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A best-selling modern masterpiece set in the author's home country of Egypt.
--This text refers to an alternate
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By G. O'TOOLE
Format:Paperback
Taxi is a window on the world. This amazing collection of stories from the back seats of Cairo's 100,000 or so cabs takes the reader on a journey through the ups and downs of life, let alone the winding streets of Egypt's capital. Chosen by the Independent as one of the six best books to have come out of the Arabic-language market ever, it is, quite simply, unmissable. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone who wants to know what makes modern Egypt - and the Middle East in general - tick like the meters in the cabs themselves. Khaled al Khamissi is a genius -- listen to him.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By J. Brooks
Format:Paperback
I bought Taxi after having read the three reviews on this website and cannot see why it was so highly rated. I am still wading through this book in an effort to find one good story. I have found this a most disappointing book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By The Bagster
Format:Paperback
This is a truly excellent book. On one level, it's a wonderful series of short shorts about Cairo; on another, it's possibly the best introduction to that city, and to Egypt, that you coulod hope to read. I go to Cairo regularly on business and I cannot imagine any other way for someone who does not know the place, and knows Egypt either not at all or only from tourism, to learn what makes Egyptians tick. Most of all, though, it's a great read.
By Maria
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I found this book very interesting, because it shows the story from an unusual angle. It really made me curious to know more about Egypt, but also showed how Egypt is. It get under the skin of the revolution and the country's state. You get the opinions of the people, (here of course fictional) - so it really gave me a great impression of how Egypt is.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Jez
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a taxi driver? In a fast moving collection of 58 short encounters, Khaled Khamisi plonks the reader in a selection of Cairo Taxis, from the sparkling new, to the dying jalopy. He treats us to an inside view of the daily struggle to grind out a living on the streets of Cairo: the choking all encompassing traffic, the personal dramas, the crushing bureaucracy, the endless small bribes to all and sundry just to keep the machinery moving. The taxi driver's will to survive against apparently overwhelming odds is strangely uplifting and puts into clear perspective, the comparative ease with which we pass through our own lives.
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