I probably never would have found The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz if not for Brooke’s article on Women in Translation. The description drew me in immediately and was especially fitting since I was already reading George Orwell’s Animal Farm. While the premise is really interesting and well-executed, the ending left me feeling unfulfilled, hence the 3-star rating.
Book Stats
- Title: The Queue
- Author: Basma Abdel Aziz
- Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia
- Publication Date: May 24, 2016 (USA)
- Origin Country: Egypt (2012)
- Origin Language: Arabic
- Translator: Elisabeth Jaquette
- Pages: 224
- Est. Reading Time: 5 hours
- My Rating: 3/5 Stars
- Buy Now: Amazon or BAM!
The Queue: Plot Summary
In a surreal, but familiar, vision of modern day Egypt, a centralized authority known as ‘the Gate’ has risen to power in the aftermath of the ‘Disgraceful Events,’ a failed popular uprising. Citizens are required to obtain permission from the Gate in order to take care of even the most basic of their daily affairs, yet the Gate never opens, and the queue in front of it grows longer.
Citizens from all walks of life mix and wait in the sun: a revolutionary journalist, a sheikh, a poor woman concerned for her daughter’s health, and even the brother of a security officer killed in clashes with protestors. Among them is Yehya, a man who was shot during the Events and is waiting for permission from the Gate to remove a bullet that remains lodged in his pelvis. Yehya’s health steadily declines, yet at every turn, officials refuse to assist him, actively denying the very existence of the bullet.
Ultimately it is Tarek, the principled doctor tending to Yehya’s case, who must decide whether to follow protocol as he has always done, or to disobey the law and risk his career to operate on Yehya and save his life.
Written with dark, subtle humor, The Queue describes the sinister nature of authoritarianism, and illuminates the way that absolute authority manipulates information, mobilizes others in service to it, and fails to uphold the rights of even those faithful to it.
Summary from the Trade Paperback edition.
The Queue: My Thoughts
After reading Animal Farm, I found The Queue to be a similarly interesting take on totalitarianism with a more modern and less fantasized setting. While taken to the extreme in this novel, I think anyone who’s been to the DMV can relate to the frustration of having to wait in line for government services. Thankfully, most of us don’t have to face an authoritarian government where approval is needed for almost everything and the government can simply choose not to respond/open. I can’t imagine needing special approval for life-saving surgery and being blocked at every turn by government bureaucracy while slowly dying.
Propaganda and Government Control
As with Animal Farm, I found the use of propaganda and slow changes to the “official” narrative most interesting. When the Disgraceful Events first happen, it’s widely recognized that there was a clash between protesters and the Gate’s security forces. An official measure even seems to acknowledge this fact as a reason for requiring authorization to remove bullets:
“This measure has been taken in response to current critical circumstances; as a rule, bullets and projectiles may be the property of security units, and thus cannot be removed from the body without special authorization.”
– Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue
However, the narrative soon shifts that the protesters injured each other without the Gate’s involvement and later that no bullets were fired at all. Eventually, it is said that the whole thing was actually an action movie shoot and that everything people thought they saw was just special effects!
“It was one of the biggest action films in world history, explaining that this was why a few citizens had believed that there were bullets, tear gas, and smoke, even though there clearly hadn’t been anything like that, nothing except for standard special effects.”
– Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue
Along with the propaganda, media censorship, healthcare regulations, religion, patriarchal society, cell phone taps, corrupt businesses, and secret arrests are all used by the Gate to maintain control.
Favorite Quotes
“Things weren’t what they used to be, she thought, and they weren’t going to get better any time soon. Politics had eaten away at people’s heads until they in turn had begun to devour one another.”
– Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue
“A strange mood had taken hold of him recently: the significance of life’s minutiae waned and dwindled before his eyes, and suddenly everything seemed inconsequential.”
– Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue
“She’d reached the pinnacle of valor, her hand always extended in front of her, clearly signaling she was begging for change. After all, one must not stop working, no matter what the circumstances were. Yes, he thought, clearly she’d realized that the economy was lifeblood itself! That the wheel of production and construction must not stop spinning, not even for a moment, not even in the darkest of times.”
– Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue
“There was no question that life was more restrictive now, though they’d promised the exact opposite when the Gate first appeared and everyone had rejoiced. They’d said the Gate was going to make everything easier, that it would bring peace, joy, and security to each and every citizen. He was a citizen, a dutiful one, too, but now it was clear that these promises had been empty.”
– Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue
The Queue: Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed most of this book! Unfortunately, although I think I understand the author’s intent, I found the ending overly abrupt and vague. If not for this, and perhaps even if there was just one more sentence added, I would probably have rated The Queue 4 stars. Still, it was a good 3-star read and the type of book I think everyone should read now and then to stay vigilant against becoming divided and falling into a dystopian society ourselves.
“Despite how crowded it was, the people in the queue lived their lives and solved their own problems without help from anyone. This was exactly what made people outside the queue fear and envy them, and what set their schemes in motion. They didn’t want the people in the queue to be a united collective or “one hand.”
– Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue
Do you like dystopian novels? Have you read The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz or something like it? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
If you haven’t yet, you may also enjoy my review of Animal Farm by George Orwell.
Sounds very interesting. I’m sorry to hear the end was not fulfilling, as it really seem like a good plot. Thanks for sharing your thoughtful review.
Sounds like it was a good book, loved reading your thoughts on it!
I’m not a big fan of dystopian novels. But this does sound really interesting! Great review 😊