You Must Believe in Spring

by Mohamed Tonsy

Twenty years after she first chanted in Tahrir, Hanan’s son is living under military rule in Egypt. Though he is both a disciple of the national Sufi institute and a swimmer representing the Armed Forces, proximity to power cannot undo his revolutionary birthright: like his mother and grandmother before him, Shahed is an undercover rebel.

When a general arrives at the Sufi institute looking for help with a military assignment, Shahed accepts, all while concealing his own plans for resistance. The mission takes him behind the walls of a prison town, inside a secret army barracks in the Sinai desert, and deep into the murky waters of the past.

As he wades through his mother’s repressed memories and the state’s repressed histories, Shahed grapples with the traumas of the revolution and the weight of authoritarian rule, searching for new ways to revolt for freedom.

Genres: Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2022

About the author

Mohamed is a queer Egyptian writer and ceramicist. Formerly an architect and a triathlete representing the Egyptian Triathlon Federation, he completed a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. His writing has appeared in Mizna and Epoch Press and was shortlisted for MFest’s 2021 Short Story Competition.

Reviews

[Paulina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an immersive and emotionally charged book that invites the reader on the journey through the modern day Egypt and its political context. It weaves a story of the main character's family with the wider story of the country. Both stories have similar strands - oppression, revolution, violence and a sense of helplessness in the face of a cruel and rigid military regime.

The narrative structure (jumping to the past and into the present) can sometimes feel hard to follow and for me it felt forced at times. The content is valuable, meaningful and insightful but the way the overall story gets told could be improved.

[isla · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent debut novel. Written about the Arab Springs' protests, the book delves simultaneously into the past and future, meeting in the middle to bring to light the importance of revolting for freedom. The only critique I would provide would be that the timeline is a little confusing at some points and could be clarified more for the reader. Bonus point for the author being Edinburgh-based!

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book intricately weaves together the author's personal memories and accounts from fellow revolutionaries to present a poignant reflection on the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The dystopian portrayal of Egypt and especially Cairo offers profound insights into the capriciousness of military rule and the profound sacrifices made by protestors in their struggle against political oppression, all in pursuit of a vision of freedom and a new future for Egypt. While initially challenging to engage with the book and the style of the author, the book's end really captivated me. Putting my issues with style aside this novel really did a great job at prompting deep reflections on the role of fiction in illuminating political movements and revolutions. Despite my limited prior knowledge of Egyptian history, this novel has sparked my interest in delving deeper into it.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think i need to read it again. ending went hard though

[Ailsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heavy book dealing with political oppression and resistance. I think its real strength was how it portrayed Shahed's experience of living in this dystopian version of Egypt, with such detail on the every day moments he lived, such as his relationship with Ramy and the benzene in the swimming pool that he kept coming back to. Those are just the small details, while the wider tensions, such as his parents' absence from Egypt and his grandmother's presence in his life and what those things meant for him, were similarly achingly real. At times, I struggled to follow the plot, exactly. There doesn't seem to be much for the first half, then when he embarks on the mission he gives himself, I was unclear as to what his plan in the army barracks was, so I didn't know how to react when things changed and went wrong. But it's the sort of book that's worth rereading, thanks to my unfamiliarity with the subject, the characters, the setting, and trying to take away new things with every read.

[Floris Olivier · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really heavy, but good. It gives a clear view of how people can feel living in a state that represses them. How they can be driven to extreme acts just to escape or protest this.

It's not a light read, but it is an important one.

[jq · Rating 5 out of 5]

so so so good

[Sophie Sutherland · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, words used well. The story takes shape from fragments - memory, pain, revolution. A heavy history. For evil to become ordinary, how long must we stand covering our eyes?

[huda 💋 · Rating 4 out of 5]

💘🤧😮‍💨🙏🏽

teared up so many times reading - i was emotionally so invested and touched so many times!! structurally sometimes a little bit confusing, esp if you’re unfamiliar with the timeline of the egyptian revolution… they jump between times and perspectives which sometimes is challenging to understand - i was hooked nevertheless and really enjoyed reading. some tears were shed after finishing the book but can recommend and also generally fill your shelves with bipoc queer writers it’s goooooood for you 💘💘💘💘💘💓💓💓💓💎💎💎💎💎