I would like to thank Netgalley for my ARC of this book for my honest and unbiased opinion.

MY REVIEW: 4*

This tells the story of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.  Protesters make their grievances known.  They have had to endure police brutality, fraud, corruption, lack of free elections and freedom of speech.  The protesters organise strikes. demonstrations, riots and take part in online activism.  When President Mubarak is overthrown by the military and another is elected president, nothing seems to change.  There are more protests, arrests, torture and death.  The violence increases and is like a vicious circle.  The more the activists want to get the word out, the more they are leaving themselves open to attacks and being killed.

The story is focused on Miriam. Khalil and their group of friends.  They are producers of podcasts, conduct interviews, organise protests, help families of the injured, dead and arrested.  Their aim is to get justice for the atrocities that have been committed to the people of Egypt.  It shows a different perspective of the revolution, how things are discussed and planned, how they will deal with the aftermath, their expectations and how they keep the pressure up for justice and the truth to be seen.

I would recommend this book for readers of contemporary fiction.  It is a tough read due to the nature of the subject, but a worthwhile read.

THE BLURB:

A debut novel that captures the experience of the Egyptian revolution like no news report could

The City Always Wins is a remarkable novel from the psychological heart of a revolution. From the communal highs of pitched night battles against the police in Cairo to the solitary lows of defeated exile in New York, Omar Robert Hamilton’s debut is a unique immersion in one of the key chapters of the twenty-first century. Arrestingly visual, intensely lyrical, uncompromisingly political, The City Always Wins is a novel not just about Egypt’s revolution but about a global generation that tried to change the world.

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