In the realm of Queuetopia: How to give physical shape to relations with power in al-Ṭābūr(s) by Yūsuf Idrīs and Basma ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz
The present work aims to analyze the symbolic image of queues, contextualized within the same geographic area (Egypt) but represented in two different historical moments: 1952 and 2012. The historical frame is provided here by two narrative works, a short story and a novel, both entitled al-Ṭābūr (The Queue) by two Egyptian writers, respectively Yūsuf Idrīs (1927-1991) and Basma ‘Abd al-‘Azīz (1976). The paper will try to provide preliminary but meaningful insight into the political (if it is so) and figurative meaning of queuing as portrayed by the two authors.