Beer in the Snooker Club

Behind the bar at Jameel's in Cairo hang two mugs engraved with the names of Ram and Font. During their years together in London, they drank many a pint of Bass from these mugs. But there is no Bass in Nasser's Egypt, so Ram and Font have to make do with a heady mixture of beer, vodka and whisky. Stranded between two cultures, Ram and Font must choose between dangerous political opposition and reluctant acquiescence. First published in 1964, BEER IN THE SNOOKER CLUB is a classic of the literature of emigration, now reissued with a foreword by Diana Athill.

Waguih Ghali