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A tale of affection, humour and sensitivity The first volume in Mr Mahfouz's trilogy - Bayn al-quasrayn is its original title in Arabic - is set in Cairo a few months before the beginning of the revolution that ultimately lead to the independence of Egypt from the British Rule on April 7, 1919 (incidentally the year Mr Mahfouz was born). This magnificent tale tells the story of the Abd al-Jawad family who live in Palace Walk. Ahmed Abd al-Jawad and his wife Amina have two daughters, Khadija and Aisha, and three sons: Yasin is a secretary at al-Nashin school and the son of his father's previous marriage to Haniya, Fahmy is a law student and Kamal, a 10 year old boy. As the reader follows the joys, sorrows and temptations of each member of the Abd al-Jawad family, he discovers what life used to be like in Cairo at the beginning of the last century. Mr Mahfouz's prose is full of psychological insight, both cultural and social observations and the tale is told with great affection, humour and sensitivity. It is also worth praising William Maynard Hutchinsons's achievement as a translator in this edition.
A tour de force "Doesn't function like a Western novel"? Does the reviewer who wrote that think that all novels need function like Western ones?
The novel is not an indigenous form to Arabic literature, and the first Arabic novel was published in the 1910's or 1920's in Egypt. Yet Middle Eastern writers, with Mahfouz at their head, have taken this foreign form and appropriated it, infusing their own cultural values and linguistic lyricism. How is literature to evolve if everyone must write in the same way?
We owe thanks to the late Jackie Kennedy Onassis for this wonderful translation of "Palace Walk"; she read it in French and enjoyed it so much that she set the wheels in motion to get an English translation onto American bookshelves. Since then many of Mahfouz's novels and novellas have been published by Doubleday. I own most if not all of them, and they are fantastic.
I'd like to add something about the difficulties of translation. Mahfouz's Arabic is too poetic and complex for me to understand, but the fact that the English translation is so lyrical and can stand on its own is testament to the greatness of the original work.
Reading literature from other cultures should open our minds and help us to come closer to global understanding. It's true that I have a far more intense bond with Mahfouz's work than a non-Egyptian or non-Middle Easterner would have, but he is such a consummate genius that he moves me as well, deeply.
In addition, the reviewer's opinion that the characters have not changed strikes me as either misinformed or born of bias. The characters do change, but you have to read the whole Trilogy to see just how much. You also have to understand that change does take time, and in Egypt things usually move pretty slowly, though they are punctuated with political events and social upheavals such as Mahfouz describes.
Read the Cairo Trilogy, and then read it again after a year or so. Read Mahfouz's other books, especially the controversial "Children of the Alley" (a.k.a. "Children of Gebelawi"), and "The Harafish," "Midaq Alley" and the novellas. He is poetry mixed with philosophy and his work should open your eyes to the beauty and pain of the world.
A tour de force "Doesn't function like a Western novel"? Does the reviewer who wrote that think that all novels need function like Western ones?
The novel is not an indigenous form to Arabic literature, and the first Arabic novel was published in the 1910's or 1920's in Egypt. Yet Middle Eastern writers, with Mahfouz at their head, have taken this foreign form and appropriated it, infusing their own cultural values and linguistic lyricism. How is literature to evolve if everyone must write in the same way?
We owe thanks to the late Jackie Kennedy Onassis for this wonderful translation of "Palace Walk"; she read it in French and enjoyed it so much that she set the wheels in motion to get an English translation onto American bookshelves. Since then many of Mahfouz's novels and novellas have been published by Doubleday. I own most if not all of them, and they are fantastic.
I'd like to add something about the difficulties of translation. Mahfouz's Arabic is too poetic and complex for me to understand, but the fact that the English translation is so lyrical and can stand on its own is testament to the greatness of the original work.
Reading literature from other cultures should open our minds and help us to come closer to global understanding. It's true that I have a far more intense bond with Mahfouz's work than a non-Egyptian or non-Middle Easterner would have, but he is such a consummate genius that he moves me as well, deeply.
In addition, the reviewer's opinion that the characters have not changed strikes me as either misinformed or born of bias. The characters do change, but you have to read the whole Trilogy to see just how much. You also have to understand that change does take time, and in Egypt things usually move pretty slowly, though they are punctuated with political events and social upheavals such as Mahfouz describes.
Read the Cairo Trilogy, and then read it again after a year or so. Read Mahfouz's other books, especially the controversial "Children of the Alley" (a.k.a. "Children of Gebelawi"), and "The Harafish," "Midaq Alley" and the novellas. He is poetry mixed with philosophy and his work should open your eyes to the beauty and pain of the world.
A Mystical Read! I first came across Palace Walk in the library while looking for a good book to read. Well, needless to say, I am so glad I found this book! I just picked up the book and stared into the picture. I was so mesmerized by the scene of an old and dusty Egypt. I could even imagine myself walking in a sari, blinking the sand out of my eyes.
I knew nothing about Egypt, the culture, and even less about the religion, but that's what drew me to this book. I love to immerse myself in different customs, cultures, and languages. I adored Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur S. Golden, which I have to recommend. It's a wonderful story about Japan before and during World War II, so it's in the same time period as Palace Walk. (I even heard that Steven Spielberg bought the rights to Golden's book!) And while I'm at it, I must recommend the author, Amy Tan, who wrote The Joy Luck Club, (which was made into a movie). I also loved Amy Tan's book The Hundred Secret Senses, which is I great story about Chinese beliefs and customs. So if any of you are interesting in looking at the world in a completely different view through the eyes of foreigner half way around the world, Palace Walk is worth your time!
I had no idea what this book was going to be about when I started it, but that's what made it all the more better. Naguib Mahfouz is an exceptional writer. He's an artist, to put it simply! He has the talent to dip his paintbrush into words of ordinary, every day use, and paint something magical! Palace Walk is filled of Mahfouz's metaphors, similes, allegories, and poetry. It's so beautiful the way his mind interprets life! I just know I'll have to read this book again so I can memorize all my favorite parts-which isn't a problem!
I decided to look up Palace Walk while I was here on Amazon.com, and to my surprise, I found that there is a Cairo Trilogy! Oh, I can't wait to read the next two book of the trilogy, Palace of Desire and Sugar Street! I must admit that I was a bit disappointed in the end of Palace Walk. The ending wasn't bad; it was just that I didn't want it to end. I felt that there was more to the story...and atlas, there is!
Now go out there and read this book! Carpe Diem! Take a chance and go pick a book blindfolded at the library! That's always the best way to pick a book. Never let a critic with diverse ideas and opinions from your own tell you what's good. You only know what's good, and sometimes that's not enough! Be open-minded and read something you thought you'd never read or do something you thought you could never in your wildest dreams imagine-you might surprise yourself!
A Mystical Read! I first came across Palace Walk in the library while looking for a good book to read. Well, needless to say, I am so glad I found this book! I just picked up the book and stared into the picture. I was so mesmerized by the scene of an old and dusty Egypt. I could even imagine myself walking in a sari, blinking the sand out of my eyes.
I knew nothing about Egypt, the culture, and even less about the religion, but that's what drew me to this book. I love to immerse myself in different customs, cultures, and languages. I adored Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur S. Golden, which I have to recommend. It's a wonderful story about Japan before and during World War II, so it's in the same time period as Palace Walk. (I even heard that Steven Spielberg bought the rights to Golden's book!) And while I'm at it, I must recommend the author, Amy Tan, who wrote The Joy Luck Club, (which was made into a movie). I also loved Amy Tan's book The Hundred Secret Senses, which is I great story about Chinese beliefs and customs. So if any of you are interesting in looking at the world in a completely different view through the eyes of foreigner half way around the world, Palace Walk is worth your time!
I had no idea what this book was going to be about when I started it, but that's what made it all the more better. Naguib Mahfouz is an exceptional writer. He's an artist, to put it simply! He has the talent to dip his paintbrush into words of ordinary, every day use, and paint something magical! Palace Walk is filled of Mahfouz's metaphors, similes, allegories, and poetry. It's so beautiful the way his mind interprets life! I just know I'll have to read this book again so I can memorize all my favorite parts-which isn't a problem!
I decided to look up Palace Walk while I was here on Amazon.com, and to my surprise, I found that there is a Cairo Trilogy! Oh, I can't wait to read the next two book of the trilogy, Palace of Desire and Sugar Street! I must admit that I was a bit disappointed in the end of Palace Walk. The ending wasn't bad; it was just that I didn't want it to end. I felt that there was more to the story...and atlas, there is!
Now go out there and read this book! Carpe Diem! Take a chance and go pick a book blindfolded at the library! That's always the best way to pick a book. Never let a critic with diverse ideas and opinions from your own tell you what's good. You only know what's good, and sometimes that's not enough! Be open-minded and read something you thought you'd never read or do something you thought you could never in your wildest dreams imagine-you might surprise yourself!
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