Bücher von Nadia Wassef

Anfang der 2000er befindet sich Ägypten in politischer Aufbruchsstimmung. Das Interesse an Kultur, internationalem Austausch und Konsum nimmt zu. Beflügelt von dieser Euphorie möchten die Schwestern Nadia und Hind Wassef zusammen mit ihrer Freundin und Geschäftspartnerin Nihal Schawky einen Raum schaffen, der eine Brücke zwischen Ost und West schlägt. Ohne konkreten Businessplan und nur mit eigenen Ersparnissen gründen sie 2002 einen modernen Buchladen in Kairo - angesichts der wirtschaftlichen Probleme des Landes und der Tatsache, dass sie Frauen sind, ist dies nichts anderes als ein Akt der Rebellion. Knapp 20 Jahre haben sich die Diwan Bookshops zu einer erfolgreichen Buchhandelskette entwickelt. »Jeden Tag blättert das Schicksal eine Seite um« erzählt die abenteuerliche und eindrucksvolle Geschichte von ihrer Gründung, deren Mitarbeitern und Besuchern, von den Hürden des Geschäftslebens, der Zensur, der Geschichte Ägyptens und von weiblicher Selbstermächtigung im Kulturkreis Kairos. Mit ihrem eindrucksvollen Debüt hat Nadia Wassef eine Liebeserklärung an die Bücher und Buchläden geschrieben, die uns einen Weg eröffnen, über die Gesellschaft zu sprechen, uns auszutauschen und weiterzuentwickeln.

The warm and winning story of opening a modern bookstore where there were none, Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller recounts Nadia Wassef's troubles and triumphs as a founder and manager of Cairo-based Diwan

"e;As a bookseller, I loved Shelf Life for the chance to peer behind the curtain of Diwan, Nadia Wassef's Egyptian bookstore-the way that the personal is inextricable from the professional, the way that failure and success are often lovers, the relationship between neighborhoods and books and life. Nadia's story is for every business owner who has ever jumped without a net, and for every reader who has found solace in the aisles of a bookstore."e;-Emma Straub, author of All Adults Here"e;Shelf Life is such a unique memoir about career, life, love, friendship, motherhood, and the impossibility of succeeding at all of them at the same time. It is the story of Diwan, the first modern bookstore in Cairo, which was opened by three women, one of whom penned this book. As a bookstore owner I found this fascinating. As a reader I found it fascinating. Blunt, honest, funny."e;-Jenny Lawson, author of Broken (in the best possible way)The warm and winning story of opening a modern bookstore where there were none, Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller recounts Nadia Wassef's troubles and triumphs as a founder and manager of Cairo-based DiwanThe streets of Cairo make strange music. The echoing calls to prayer; the raging insults hurled between drivers; the steady crescendo of horns honking; the shouts of street vendors; the television sets and radios blaring from every sidewalk. Nadia Wassef knows this song by heart.In 2002, with her sister, Hind, and their friend, Nihal, she founded Diwan, a fiercely independent bookstore. They were three young women with no business degrees, no formal training, and nothing to lose. At the time, nothing like Diwan existed in Egypt. Culture was languishing under government mismanagement, and books were considered a luxury, not a necessity. Ten years later, Diwan had become a rousing success, with ten locations, 150 employees, and a fervent fan base.Frank, fresh, and very funny, Nadia Wassef's memoir tells the story of this journey. Its eclectic cast of characters features Diwan's impassioned regulars, like the demanding Dr. Medhat; Samir, the driver with CEO aspirations; meditative and mythical Nihal; silent but deadly Hind; dictatorial and exacting Nadia, a self-proclaimed bitch to work with-and the many people, mostly men, who said Diwan would never work.Shelf Life is a portrait of a country hurtling toward revolution, a feminist rallying cry, and an unapologetic crash course in running a business under the law of entropy. Above all, it is a celebration of the power of words to bring us home.