Circling The Square [Idioma Inglés]: Stories from the Egyptian Revolution - Tapa blanda

'Steavenson is frank about the pressure on her as a journalist to 'explain' Egypt, to distil the revolution's swirling currents into an authoritative account of 'characters and beginnings and middles and conclusions'...Circling the Square eschews this manufactured certainty for a kaleidoscope of impressions that reflect the sensory onslaught of Cairo in general and revolutionary Cairo in particular. This is the revolution up close and personal, a vivid taste of the fear and exhilaration of protest in the square, embellished with excursions - to a subsidised bakery, to play pool with local strongmen, on a beach holiday with a military intelligence officer - that illuminate the subtler workings of Egyptian society.' --Rachel Aspden, The Guardian

'Steavenson writes beautifully, layering images and details in packed, breathless sentences that show rather than tell what it was like to witness the frequent and often incomprehensible eruptions of violence in the square, the street battles between police and protesters, the stone-throwing, the crowds running as the security forces charged and tear gas filled the air, the elections and the mixture of hope and despair that drove the country's youth. Circling the Square provides valuable testimony to the inspiring spirit of unity and selflessness in Tahrir so evident during those 18 days and, periodically, during the first year after the revolution before polarisation and cynicism took over' -- Financial Times

'When Steavenson sticks to her craft of densely layered reportage, the results are impressive. She moves easily between the most privileged sections of Egyptian society, from the liberal bourgeoisie and the military to the depths where life is utterly desperate, providing vivid pen portraits along the way' --Literary Review

WENDELL STEAVENSON has lived in and reported from post-Soviet Georgia, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. She is the author of the acclaimed memoir, Stories I Stole, about post-Soviet Georgia, and The Weight of a Mustard Seed, about life in Saddam's Iraq and the aftermath of the American invasion. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, Telegraph, Granta, Slate.com, Time, New Yorker, and other publications. She lives in Paris.