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An Irishman goes in search of a tall tale in the backstreets of 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 Cairo, 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.
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 Cairo, 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.
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Reviews
Somerville's novel is a raucous, brilliantly funny ride through Arab culture and the colourful streets of Cairo
This freewheeling novel is a love letter from one happily shambolic country to another
A comic mystery, THE END OF SLEEP is a brisk page-turner
Brimming with a love of Arab culture, this madcap tale follows Cairo-based Fin as he searches for his friend, Farouk, a quest that takes him through gallons of whisky, tea and Nile water!
There are some glorious passages of description
A heady adventure tale
Everything about Somerville's debut made me hungry: hungry to visit Cairo, but above all hungry for whatever this author chooses to serve up next