This is an almost poetic rant on short slice in the life of a young Egyptian. The author cites Chuck Palahniuk as his main influence, the author of Fight Club and other books. In the vein of Palahniuk, it is disturbing but not too crass, psychological and perhaps more taught and 'younger' than Palahniuk. In service of cool, the author does away with most of the storytelling threads that let the reader know what has happened or is happening, which makes the book a bit of a puzzle, an unrewarding puzzle. There are some great ideas here, but the author does not pull it off but if he becomes a bit more tethered he could be more like Pynchon or Vollmann in fifteen years, although I don't suspect that's his interest. An interesting read and commentary on Egyptian youth. ( )