Mr Daniel D Watkins

Where Are the Songs of Spring? Mr Daniel D Watkins

Publisher Marketing: 'No man, however callous, can find the words he needs to justify himself to the victims of his beliefs. All reasons and excuses abandon him when forced to look into the faces of those he has tried so hard to avoid. He is reduced to a primitive and speechless state, hypnotised by the horror of himself and that he is the beast when there are no more beasts to kill.' Where are the songs of Spring? presents an emerging dystopian vision of Cairo after the January 2011 Revolution where hopes for freedom and democracy have been crushed by the forces of continued government corruption and foreign interests. Those who fought for the 'Facebook Revolution' are on the run. A Cairo family finds itself caught up in the counter revolution and is torn apart by its own secrets and betrayals. In a fragmented and alienating world of unsustainable rising populations, growing inequality and state control, Sabrijja and her brother Tariq struggle to survive. Exiled and haunted by the ghosts of their pasts, the two young Egyptians must find a way to reconnect and make life worth living. The novel reaches beyond contemporary Middle Eastern politics to explore issues of freedom and authenticity of the individual in a world of growing state and bureaucratic control. This is truly a tale for our time that asks the question: Do we now live in a post-revolutionary age - game over?