Israeli bookstores are currently being stocked with the novel Azazeel, by Youssef Ziedan, the philosopher from Alexandria. Azazeel is one of the most important books to be published in Arabic over the past decade. Now it can be read in Hebrew, too.
The plot of the story is the flight of a fifth-century Coptic monk named Hypa from his homeland in Egypt. It happens during the spread of Christianity, when agents of the church were imposing their religion by force, with strong-arm policies directed at pagans and Jews. Hypa, who witnesses brutal murders done in the name of the Holy Cross, flees from his village in Upper Egypt to Alexandria. From there he continues on to the Land of Israel, and then to the outskirts of Aleppo, searching for inner peace and tranquility. His journey is both physical and spiritual/philosophical in nature. It revolves around his struggle with "Azazeel" (which can mean "devil" or "demon"), who is actually Satan himself.
