“Why Don’t We Live Simply? This seemingly simple question is asked by the protagonists of the four stories in this book to themselves and to us. They find no answer, nor do we… Why don’t we love and be loved and live in peace and joy that does not deserve a story or a novel? Why don’t days pass easily, starting and ending without hurting us, shedding blood, blaming, oppressing, or shaking us? Why don’t we spend them and live them as we wish, finishing them peacefully and quietly? Who threw us into the eye of the storm as it rages with its utmost violence and fury? What does it expect from us? Why all this when life is easier and simpler? Is life simpler and easier, Ismail? What happened to you, Naji? What did you discover, Suleiman, after all you lived through? How did you strengthen yourself against what you faced, Akram? Many questions the four stories try to answer through the feelings, sorrows, tears, anger, strength, and fragility of their heroes, all unable to find an answer to the urgent question that pursued them—Why don’t we live simply?!

_ Amira Bahy El-Din