Dessert for Three: An Egyptian Collection

by Fatima ElKalay, Mariam Shouman, Aida Nasr

Overview

The stories predate Facebook and social media. Some predate cell phones. There are references to the Gulf War and bird flu in Mariam's stories. Subtle hints about the January 25 revolution in 2011 show up in my stories and Aida's, but these were introduced in rewrites, because mentioning the revolution wove in naturally with existing storylines.

The last story in the collection by Aida, "Tangerine Woman", is one she wrote during our many coffee dates while waiting for Mariam's recovery. At the time, Aida was the editor of an art blog and was inspired by the artists she interviewed to write a story about an artistic couple. I feel this is the most complete and revised story left behind and believe she would be happy to see it in print.

I hope I have done my friends justice with what I've made out of this collection. It's been a long journey out at sea. Seventeen years. Finally, it is time for our vessel to be moored. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781739588212
Publisher:	Grotte des Merveilles/Cave of Wonders/Rowayat
Publication date:	11/01/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	248
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Fatima ElKalay was born in the United Kingdom to Egyptian parents. She holds an MLitt in creative writing from Central Queensland University. Her poetry has appeared in Rusted Radishes, Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal, and the Shadow and Light Project, and her fiction in Anomalous Press, Rowayat, and Passionfruit. She was shortlisted for a flash piece in the London Independent Story Prize and in Arablit Story Prize's inaugural competition for short fiction in translation. Fatima hops between continents and countries but is based in Cairo, Egypt.
Mariam Shouman was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico to an American mother and an Egyptian father. She holds BAs in both history and theatre arts from the University of New Mexico and an MA in Islamic history from the American University in Cairo. Mariam has worked as a teacher and as a freelance writer and editor and was the senior editor of the Egyptian parenting magazine Mother & Child for several years. She is the mother of four and lives with her family in Cairo, Egypt.
Aida Nasr was born in Rochester, New York to Egyptian parents and passed away in Cairo in 2014. She held a BA in English and comparative literature from the American University in Cairo, and a publishing diploma from the University of the Arts in London. She was a writer and editor for several magazines and blogs including Cairo Today (later Egypt Today), Business Today, Mother & Child, and Cairo Art Blog. Aida also wrote and translated awareness material for breast cancer patients and volunteered with cancer survivors and disabled children. Her stories in Dessert for Three are her only published fiction.

Table of Contents

FOREWORD .................................................................................... 11

DRIFTING ........................................................................................ 15

MANNEQUIN....................................................................................... 21

by Fatima ElKalay

KARKADAY .......................................................................................... 34

by Aida Nasr

MOTHER OF MEN .............................................................................. 49

by Mariam Shouman

A LIFELINE ...................................................................................... 65

LES BOUTONS ..................................................................................... 71

by Fatima ElKalay

LILACS ................................................................................................... 88

by Aida Nasr

'AMM AHMAD .................................................................................. 111

by Mariam Shouman

MOMENTUM ............................................................................... 123

SHELL-WHISPERING ......................................................................131

by Fatima ElKalay

DESSERT FOR THREE ...................................................................... 150

by Aida Nasr

BREAD AND SALT ............................................................................ 161

by Mariam Shouman 

TURBULENCE ............................................................................. 179

I DON'T DESERVE A DURRA ........................................................ 186

by Fatima ElKalay

BUTTERFLIES .................................................................................... 202

by Aida Nasr

THE STAINS ON HER LIPS ............................................................. 214

by Mariam Shouman

CALM .................................................................................235

TANGERINE WOMAN .................................................................... 237

by Aida Nasr

POSTSCRIPT ................................................................................ 245