The time is 1981. Anwar al-Sadat is president, and Infitah, Sadat's open-door economic policy, is wreaking havoc in the everyday lives of citizens." "Set against this backdrop, The Day the Leader Was Killed relates the tale of a middle-class Cairene family. Rich with irony and infused with political undertones, the story is narrated alternately by the pious and mischievous family patriarch, Muhtashimi Zayed, his hapless grandson, Elwan, and Elwan's headstrong and beautiful fiancee, Randa. The novel reaches its climax with the assassination of Sadat on October 6, 1981." "This is the story of all people who must face the pangs of development while struggling to hold on to tradition."--.

Alternative title: Yawma qutila al-zaʻīm. English language arts 30 (2013).