His eyes shine with a glimmer of perpetual amusement; his sartorial taste is impeccable
Ossama is a thief, not a legitimated thief, such as a minister, banker, or real-estate developer; he is a modest thief.
Among the books to be treasured by the utterly singular Albert Cossery, his last, hilarious novel, The Colors of Infamy , is a particular jewel.. . . .
And so he decides he must act.
Ossama by some divine decree has become the repository of a scandal of epic proportions.
A source of rich bribes heretofore, the fat man is now too hot to handle; he\'s a fabulously wealthy real-estate developer, lately much in the news because one of his cheap buildings has just collapsed, killing 50 tenants.
In it Ossama finds not just a gratifying amount of cash, but also a letter -- a letter from the Ministry of Public Works, cutting off its ties to the fat man.
One fat victim (everything about him oozed opulence and theft on a grand scale) is relieved of his crocodile wallet.
His country may be a disaster, but he\'s a hedonist convinced that nothing on this earth is tragic for an intelligent man.
He knows that by dressing with the same elegance as the licensed robbers of the people, he could elude the mistrustful gaze of the police, and so he glides lazily around the cafe s of Cairo, seeking his prey.
His eyes shine with a glimmer of perpetual amusement; his sartorial taste is impeccable
Ossama is a thief, not a legitimated thief, such as a minister, banker, or real-estate developer; he is a modest thief
