Episode Details

Harriett Gilbert talks to internationally acclaimed Egyptian writer Nawal El Saadawi about her classic novel Woman at Point Zero.Recorded in 2009.

Written over 30 years ago but still resonating clearly today Woman at Point Zero is a dark and powerful account of the life of a young woman awaiting execution in a Cairo prison for murdering her pimp. Her crime, borne of anger at her lifelong mistreatment at the hands of men, is one she confesses to with no shame. The urgency and passion of the writing in this book is more than matched by the author’s response to the questions posed by you, our World Book Club listeners, around the world.

(Photo: Nawal El Saadawi, 2012) (Credit: MARINA HELLI/AFP/Getty Images)