Lägg till bokmärkeThe Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street (Everyman's Library)
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
Naguib Mahfouz’s magnificent epic trilogy of colonial Egypt appears here in one volume for the first time. The Nobel Prize—winning writer’s masterwork is the engrossing story of a Muslim family in Cairo during Britain’s occupation of Egypt in the early decades of the twentieth century.
The novels of The Cairo Trilogy trace three generations of the family of tyrannical patriarch Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who rules his household ... (show more)
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
Naguib Mahfouz’s magnificent epic trilogy of colonial Egypt appears here in one volume for the first time. The Nobel Prize—winning writer’s masterwork is the engrossing story of a Muslim family in Cairo during Britain’s occupation of Egypt in the early decades of the twentieth century.
The novels of The Cairo Trilogy trace three generations of the family of tyrannical patriarch Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who rules his household with a strict hand while living a secret life of self-indulgence. Palace Walk introduces us to his gentle, oppressed wife, Amina, his cloistered daughters, Aisha and Khadija, and his three sons–the tragic and idealistic Fahmy, the dissolute hedonist Yasin, and the soul-searching intellectual Kamal. Al-Sayyid Ahmad’s rebellious children struggle to move beyond his domination in Palace of Desire, as the world around them opens to the currents of modernity and political and domestic turmoil brought by the 1920s. Sugar Street brings Mahfouz’s vivid tapestry of an evolving Egypt to a dramatic climax as the aging patriarch sees one grandson become a Communist, one a Muslim fundamentalist, and one the lover of a powerful politician.
Throughout the trilogy, the family’s trials mirror those of their turbulent country during the years spanning the two World Wars, as change comes to a society that has resisted it for centuries. Filled with compelling drama, earthy humor, and remarkable insight, The Cairo Trilogy is the achievement of a master storyteller. (show less)
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A Novel About Culture; When the author's death was announced only about a month ago I was surprised he was still living at all. I think he is the only Arab so far to win the Nobel prize for literature. He is certainly a controversial figure for Egyptians who seem at the same embarrassed by his candor, but proud of his international acclaim.
I was told that Edward Said recommended this book for those who wanted to better understand Arab culture. For the past three years I read this novel on a... (show more)
A Novel About Culture; When the author's death was announced only about a month ago I was surprised he was still living at all. I think he is the only Arab so far to win the Nobel prize for literature. He is certainly a controversial figure for Egyptians who seem at the same embarrassed by his candor, but proud of his international acclaim.
I was told that Edward Said recommended this book for those who wanted to better understand Arab culture. For the past three years I read this novel on and off. During that time it became a guilty pleasure. The pleasure, from the real quality of the work. The guilt, because it would not garnish approval from the average Arab American that has met my acquaintance. And yet, through the characters in this book, I feel I have gained much insight into my own predicament as a contemporary Muslim.
The characters in this book help to explore our humanity in a boldly honest manner. They are not the conformist utilitarian personalities belonging to an Islamist movement. They are not totally irreligious either, though their obvious character “flaws” might come as a bit of a shock to those who think that all Muslims are part of a worldwide monolith.
Really the book is not about Islam at all, and shouldn't be confused as such. But then neither is what we are - when we seek to define it, act it, live it, losing ourselves within a movement as we become part of it.
In any case, I enjoyed the variety of characters, the historical setting that was Egypt from around the turn of 1900 to WWII. I enjoyed the social themes that emerged in this context: religion, family, love, politics, colonialism, justice, and the illusive solutions that presented themselves in those times such as science, communism, & religious fundamentalism.
And it still makes me wonder how far we've really come in the past 50 years. Not really far at all I suspect. Consider this review a work in progress as I think a bit more about what else I gained from this book.
MM October 22, 2006 (show less)
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It has taken me months to read this book, and I had a difficult time getting into it, but in the end, the time was well worth the read. I like to think of The Cairo Trilogy as one massive work (as Mahfouz originally intended) rather than three stand-alone books; my enjoyment of it deepened as I followed these characters through 20 years and countless joys, sadnesses, and tragedies. Characters that I started off disliking became poignant or wise -- one in particular, who didn't seem all that i... (show more)
It has taken me months to read this book, and I had a difficult time getting into it, but in the end, the time was well worth the read. I like to think of The Cairo Trilogy as one massive work (as Mahfouz originally intended) rather than three stand-alone books; my enjoyment of it deepened as I followed these characters through 20 years and countless joys, sadnesses, and tragedies. Characters that I started off disliking became poignant or wise -- one in particular, who didn't seem all that important initially, ended up becoming the fulcrum around which this family spun.
Unfortunately, as a novice to Egyptian history, many of the references to Egypt's fight for independence that pepper the book were lost on me, although the historical chronology at the beginning helped a little. But overall, this did not dampen my feelings for this book. I wasn't sure I could stay with it, but I think this is one of those works that will stay with me. (show less)
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