Book Review: The Blue Elephant by Ahmed Mourad (الفيل الأزرق)

I have to say I am somewhat puzzled by how successful this novel proved to be over the past year. It is an entertaining book on some levels, but it's also a deeply flawed one.

Badly written, plastic dialogue, superficial characterization, and a poorly constructed plot, consisting mainly of clichés lifted from dozens of American horror films, are some of the flaws that this book suffers from.

It being short-listed for the "Arabic Booker Prize" is mind-boggling!