‘A remarkable work of political imagination … Unapologetically dense and rich.’ — The Skinny

‘This critical contribution to contemporary Arab literature quietly keeps the flame—and the bruises—of a concussed Egyptian revolution alive.’ — Farah Abdessamad, writer, critic and essayist

Twenty years after she first chanted in Tahrir, Hanan’s son is living under military rule in Egypt. Though he is both a disciple of the national Sufi institute and a swimmer representing the Armed Forces, proximity to power cannot undo his revolutionary birthright: like his mother and grandmother before him, Shahed is an undercover rebel.

When a general arrives at the Sufi institute looking for help with a military assignment, Shahed accepts, all while concealing his own plans for resistance. The mission takes him behind the walls of a prison town, inside a secret army barracks in the Sinai desert, and deep into the murky waters of the past.

As he wades through his mother’s repressed memories and the state’s repressed histories, Shahed grapples with the traumas of the revolution and the weight of authoritarian rule, searching for new ways to revolt for freedom.

‘A remarkable work of political imagination … Unapologetically dense and rich.’ — The Skinny

‘Anyone knowing the lived impact of persecution and oppression will be given company by Mohamed Tonsy’s storytelling.’ —The Student

‘Provocative and creative … [blazes] new trails into vast, uncharted territories.’ — Amir Ahmadi Arian, author of Then the Fish Swallowed Him

‘Knotty, hopeful and heartful.’ — Yara Rodrigues Fowler, author of there are more things

‘A visionary work from a remarkable new voice. Tonsy’s use of speculative fiction to archive the past gives us a mesmerising new lens onto the 2011 revolution in Egypt.’ — Akil Kumarasamy, author of Meet Us by the Roaring Sea

‘A beautiful and assured debut, masterfully pulling apart the complexities of a singular moment in time.’ — Heather Parry, author of Orpheus Builds a Girl

‘This critical contribution to contemporary Arab literature quietly keeps the flame—and the bruises—of a concussed Egyptian revolution alive.’ — Farah Abdessamad, writer, critic and essayist

‘In this excellent work of speculative political fiction, Tonsy succeeds in making us rethink the events of the revolution and other stories that exist in history’s margins.’ — Nihal El Aasar, Egyptian writer and researcher

‘A sprawling, dense and simultaneously intimate portrait of a traumatised Cairo.’ — A. Naji Bakhti, author of Between Beirut and the Moon

‘This … is where the most exciting fiction is at this pivotal moment of global political turmoil.’ — Elizabeth Chakrabarty, author of Lessons in Love and Other Crimes

In Conversation with Mohamed Tonsy and “You Must Believe in Spring” — The Student

EXTRACT: You Must Believe in Spring — Rowayat, Issue 7, October 2023

The Inevitability of Spring — An Interview with Mohamed Tonsy — Tint Journal, 31 July 2023

INTERVIEW: Mohamed Tonsy, “You Must Believe in Spring” — New Books in Literature podcast

REVIEW: You Must Believe in Spring — The Skinny

Artist Spotlight: Mohamed Tonsy — Epoch Press

Mohamed Tonsy: Connecting Ceramics and Literature through Imagined Futures — Craft Scotland

13 October 2022
Paperback / 9781914221187
ebook / 9781914221194
198 × 129 mm
264 pages