Set in the turbulent years before the 1952 revolution that would
overthrow King Farouk and bring Gamal Abdel Nasser to power, Stealth
-- by Sonallah Ibrahim, one of Egypt's most respected and uncompromising
novelists -- is a gripping story seen through the eyes of an
eleven-year-old boy. A young Egyptian's coming of age proves halting and
uncertain as he fails to outgrow dependence on his aging father and
tries to come to terms with the absence of his mother. Through the boy's
memories, fantasies, and blunt observations, we experience his attempts
at furtively spying on the world of Egyptian adults. His adventures
portray a Cairo full of movie stars, royalty, revolutionaries, and
ordinary people trying to survive in the decaying city.