Framed by introductions, scholarly essays, and a reprint of her 1972 article about Egyptian modern art, the book is at its best when its contributors probe the wild contradictions that run through everything Inji Efflatoun did. The art historians Nadine Atallah and Nadia Radwan push on the divisions between her art and activism, showing Efflatoun to be not only fascinating, cryptic, and far more complicated than a national treasure but also that no matter how she organized her time, her paintings could never be separated from her politics. At a time when pressure is mounting for art to be apolitical or affirmative, Efflatoun reminds us that resistance is never futile, and that art, by necessity, must challenge and disrupt. {read}