The End Of Sleep

Rowan Somerville

In this hypnotic and deeply funny tale of modern-day Cairo, Fin, an Irish journalist with little more than a rumpled linen suit to his name, wakes at dawn with a fierce hangover and an excruciating bruise on his thigh.

As the first prayer call of the day sounds over the ancient city, Fin stumbles into an exotic adventure that will take him to the very edge of his courage, his endurance and his sense of self. He seeks a story - a story about treasure - and to find it, he must first find his friend Farouk,the mercurial teller of tales, who alone knows what Fin needs to hear. Fuelled by whisky and a thousand glasses of tea Fin pursues his quest under the shadow of the Great Pyramid, through crowded kebab shops and into the great emptiness of the desert itself.

Set against the background of a magnificently crumbling city, The End of Sleep is an incantatory tale about a man desperately seeking meaning. It is also a riotous love letter to Arab culture, its rich history, humour, food and friendship and above all to the transformative power of storytelling.

Rowan Somerville is a supporter of the charity Chain of Hope, which helps provide cardiac treatment for children in the developing world. To find out more about the charity or make a donation, please go to www.chainofhope.org

"Everything about Somerville's debut made me hungry: hungry to visit Cairo, hungry to sample its cuisine, but above all hungry for whatever this author chooses to serve up next"

Sunday Telegraph

"Cairo is, in many ways, the most bewitching character… Fin’s gauzy hunches and tired ambitions lead him on a romp through its sensuous streets: the smell of apricot tobacco, the taste of properly made baba ghanoush and the feel of purest cotton against the skin"

Los Angeles Times