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Illustrated portrait of Shalaby

A character in The Queue

Shalaby

Shalaby is a loyal citizen seeking official recognition for his dead cousin Mahfouz, a member of the Quell Force.

The book

Cover of The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz
The QueueBasma Abdel Aziz, 2013

An endless queue waits before a bureaucracy that controls permits, medicine, information, and official reality.

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Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Shalaby is a loyal citizen seeking official recognition for his dead cousin Mahfouz, a member of the Quell Force. He believes the Gate will reward sacrifice and clear his family’s name. His arguments with Ines become part of the surveillance record. When flooding destroys his hometown and authorities blame the victims instead of helping, his faith in the system breaks. He remains alive, angry, and disillusioned; the novel does not show what he does next.

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