Synopses & Reviews
Meet the people of Cairo's Gamaliya quarter. There is Nabqa, son of Adam the waterseller who can only speak truths; the beautiful and talented Tawhida who does not age with time; Ali Zaidan, the gambler, late to love; and Boss Saqr who stashes his money above the bath. A neighbourhood of demons, dancing and sweet halva, the quarter keeps quiet vigil over the secrets of all who live there.
This collection by pre-eminent Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz was recently discovered among his old papers. Found with a slip of paper titled "for publishing 1994," they are published here for the first time. Resplendent with Mahfouz's delicate and poignant observations of everyday happenings, these lively stories take the reader deep into the beating heart of Cairo.
Review
"A master of both detailed realism and fabulous storytelling." The Guardian
Review
"Egypt’s greatest living writer...one of the world’s most humane literary figures." Laila Lalami, The Nation
Review
"A towering literary figure, and the joyous chronicler of a turbulent Egyptian century." The Economist
Review
"Naguib Mahfouz’s legacy as Egypt’s greatest novelist is sustained with these engaging short stories...their themes are timeless." New Statesman
Review
"Adds yet another essential chapter to the oeuvre of a literary figure of greatness." The National
Review
"Smooth reading...a compelling experiment in sound and echo." Qantara
Review
"[Mahfouz’s] characters reveal to the reader not just the brutality of everyday life but also its distorted beauty." Socialist Review
Review
"Exceptional...a charming book....Mahfouz plunges his readers into a world gleaming with folktales, moral allegories, and strange, otherworldly occurrences." World Literature Today
About the Author
Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006) was Egypt's most eminent writer. Over a career that lasted more than five decades, he wrote thirty-four novels, thirteen short story anthologies, numerous plays and thirty screenplays. His works range from re-imaginings of ancient myths to subtle commentaries on contemporary Egyptian politics and culture. A writer of incredible discipline, every day he wrote for one hour, smoked three cigarettes and walked by the Nile. In 1994 he was stabbed in the neck by extremists and was seriously wounded. The injury caused nerve damage that partly paralysed his right hand, preventing him from writing. Of his many works, his most famous is The Cairo Trilogy, consisting of Palace Walk, Palace of Desire and Sugar Street. Other notable works include The Children of Gebelawi, The Thief and The Dogs and Autumn Quail. Mahfouz received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988, the first writer in Arabic to do so.
Translator Roger Allen obtained his doctoral degree in modern Arabic literature from Oxford University in 1968, the first student to do so. He was Professor of Arabic and Comparative Literature at the University of Pennsylvania for forty-three years, Chair of the Department 2005-11, and President of MESA 2009-2010. His translations of Naguib Mahfouz's novels include Mirrors, Autumn Quail, Karnak Café, Khan al-Khalili and One Hour Left, as well as the short story collection God's World. He has also translated the seminal works of key contemporary authors such as Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, Yusuf Idris, May Telmissany, Ahmad al-Tawfiq and Hanan al-Shaykh.