Currently, I'm doing a PhD in Middle Eastern literature, which I specialised in because of a longstanding love for the region. I feel this especially strongly now, when so much mainstream press in the UK is negative and sensationalist about many aspects of the Middle East. But before I get carried away and rant about that, let me introduce my favourite Egyptian novel. Published in 1964, Beer in the Snooker Club follows the lives of two young men, who are caught between idealism and despair; their western education and their Egyptian upbringing; their desire for revolution and their realisation that political opposition in newly independent Egypt is extremely dangerous. Frustrated by these unresolvable tensions and, in the case of the more central character, deeply affected by a difficult love affair (which is beautifully explored), the protagonists make do with drinking and their wry humour. I found Ghali's only novel (he committed suicide at a young age) to be witty, eye-opening and incredibly moving. To quote the wonderful Diana Athill, Ghali's editor and friend, 'this is the way the great books I love best are written.'