Blogging from EgyptDigital Literature, 2005-2016

The breadth and quality of the research, and the clarity of the analysis, and on all these accounts Pepe delivers above and beyond. With concepts like 'autofiction' and ishtighālah, she offers the reader the secret passwords to access a previously unobserved, yet highly original and transformative, literary genre. This is not only a well-crafted pedagogical introduction to the topic, but a book that will prove seminal and necessary reading for many future investigations into Arabic literature on- and offline.

A timely theoretical and methodological outlet to research Egyptian internet culture. Pepe moves smoothly between theories and methods from media studies, literary studies, sociolinguistics and anthropology, weaving together a rigorous account of a powerful, yet shortlived literary phenomenon.

The book is an important addition to our understanding of the importance of Egyptian blogs: not only for their literary style, but for the role they played in the cultural environment between 2005 and 2016 and how they affect the lives of bloggers. The blogs that evolved during this time tackled social, political, personal, and religious issues, largely from the personal point of view of their writers.

In the years that preceded and followed the 2011 revolution, the Egyptian blogosphere emerged as an ideal space for literary innovation. Blogging From Egypt offers an invaluable insight into this output, thus helping us understand the cultural roots of the revolution as well as its far-reaching impact, beyond political setbacks.