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Between Two Halls

Bahaa Fathy Farahat

You are sitting in two halls at once: one you can see — its walls, its clock, its invigilator — and one you cannot, where the seat is your whole life. You entered it the day you were born, and it holds no single paper: everything that happens to you is a question.

38 chapters · 39,667 words · about 4 hours of unhurried reading

ISBN 978-977-9583-19-8 Legal deposit 21856/2026 Egyptian National Library and Archives — electronic edition

Start from the beginning

Front Matter

  1. Dedication
  2. A Word Before You Read

Introduction: Two Halls at Once

  1. At Half Past Seven
  2. The Other Hall
  3. Why Was the Hall Furnished?
  4. To Be Left Without a Question
  5. What Is in This Book

Part One: The First Bell

  1. Chapter One: The Cry of Birth and the Handing Over of the Paper
  2. Chapter Two: The Bell of Time
  3. Chapter Three: What Remains After the Paper Is Taken

Part Two: The Question Paper

  1. The Head of the Paper: The General Question
  2. Chapter One: How Many Questions Are on the Paper?
  3. Chapter Two: A Life — What It Was Spent On
  4. Chapter Three: Knowledge — What Was Done With It
  5. Chapter Four: Money — Where He Earned It and What He Spent It On
  6. Chapter Five: The Body — What It Was Worn Out In
  7. Chapter Six: Trusts and Rights — Drawn From Another Source
  8. The Close of the Part: The Ink All the Answers Are Written In

Part Three: The Invigilator

  1. Chapter One: An Invigilator Who Grows Heedless, and a Watcher Who Never Sleeps
  2. Chapter Two: The Answer Book and the Record of Deeds

Part Four: Four Candidates

  1. Chapter One: The Diligent Candidate
  2. Chapter Two: The Tragedy of the Night Before
  3. Chapter Three: The Man Who Makes Light of the Invigilator
  4. Chapter Four: The Man Who Wakes in the Last Few Minutes

Part Five: The Permitted Tools

  1. Chapter One: The Furnishing of the Hall
  2. Chapter Two: Two Papers — Gratitude and Endurance
  3. Chapter Three: Five Instructions
  4. What to Do Tomorrow Morning

Part Six: Candidates Who Sat Before You

  1. Chapter One: The Paper of Power and Money
  2. Chapter Two: The Paper of Tyranny and the Paper of Waking Up
  3. The Four Papers Together

Part Seven: Is There a Second Chance?

  1. One: As Long as the Breath Comes and Goes, There Is Time Left
  2. Two: Once It Reaches the Throat, There Is No Extension

Conclusion: The Results Are Announced

  1. Appendix One: The Table of the Two Examinations
  2. Appendix Two: The Sources of the Evidence

A Prayer and a Parting Word — and the Last Thing I Ask of You

  1. A Prayer That Is Not Mine
  2. And Do Not Let This Book Stop With You
  3. And This Is the Last Thing I Say