Translation Is Not A Mathematical Formula: Language In The Republic of Memory (Interview)

Set in a massive slower-than-light spaceship halfway between Earth and a planet called Hurriya, Mahmud El Sayed’s debut novel The Republic of Memory explores the relationship between language, politics, and culture in an Islamic society on the brink of a revolution. Inspired by his work as a translator — and by the Arab Spring uprisings of the early 2010s — the book breathes new life into the…