Maybe I am a fan of stuff related to Daily Show. First I started watching the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, then i read his (amazing) memoir, and now this book. The memoir of the man from Egypt who was called as Jon Stewart of Egypt, who just like original Daily Show made fun of political establishment, but unlike original Daily Show it's host labeled as enemy of government and an exile.
Also the cover of the book is funny. A wink emoji dressed with beard and military hat, reminded me of Sacha Baron Cohen comedy 'The dictator' which has really funny first half and not so good second.
An Egyptian doctor, Bassem Youssef started to make amature YouTube videos after getting inspired with Egyptian revolution in 2011. The program was watched by millions, and his fan base increases. From Youtube he reached main programming in national channels, and somehow he became the voice of Egypt in times of revolution. While his satire was lapped up by young urban liberals, he quickly became an eyesore to the conservative establishment. His show was a big success and often compared with The Daily Show, even Jon Stewart appeared as guest in the show. But with conservative forces running the government and social scene, the show also gained lot of criticism and controversy. As the political climate become more sensitive and Sisi took control of the government, the show was discontinued and later Bassem Youssef had to flee his home country which once made him the voice of Egypt.
The book is funny and for someone like me who doesn't know much about Egyptian revolution, a great eye opener on how conservative forces like Muslim Brotherhood used the revolution as their advantage, gained control of the government, and then lost due to mass protests which killed thousands and then declared as terrorist organization by the military leader turned president.
The book is entertaining but unlike Trevor Noah's book (which i read before this) it was not different stories weaved to make great book, it's a sequential narration of stories in interesting way, which somehow loses some of its novelty by the end. The book is heartbreaking too. A revolution against one dictator, for which thousands gave their life ended up just giving way to another dictator run government.
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