What can fiction teach us about the world we live in? According to Egyptian novelist Reem Bassiouney, it can impart lessons on everything from the history of the lands in which we live to secrets about how to communicate and love. Bassiouney is likely a little-known name in many English-speaking countries, but her work is widely read across the Arab world. She studied at Oxford University and has worked in the UK and the US, as well as in Egypt. Her fiction has garnered awards, including the 2020 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Sons of the People: The Mamluk Trilogy; the same book was also nominated …