The Open Door

Winner of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature

A Top 100 Literary Work of the Twentieth Century (The Arab Writers Union)

"Absorbing . . . Superbly translated . . . . Arguably the best modern [Egyptian] novel not written by Nobel laureate Mahfouz."—Kirkus Reviews

A landmark in women's writing set during the struggle for Egyptian independence

February 1946: Cairo is engulfed by demonstrations against the British. Layla's older brother Mahmud returns, wounded in the clashes, and the events of that fateful day mark a turning point in her life, an awakening to the world around her.

Latifa al-Zayyat's acclaimed modern classic follows Layla through her sexual and political coming of age. Her rebellious spirit seeks to free itself from the stifling social codes that dictate a young woman's life, just as Egypt struggles to shake off the yoke of imperialist rule.