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Title: Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz ISBN: 0-385-26468-2 Publisher: Anchor Books/Doubleday Pub. Date: 01 January, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.18 (11 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Unique window into Arabic culture and Arabic weltanschauung.
Comment: I do consulting in the refining and petrochemical industries and have, as a result, struck up several friendships with Arabs and Arab-Americans working in those facilities. Once I asked several acquaintances if there were are well-regarded Arab writers with good English translations available that could help me as an American better understand the modern Arab experience and worldview. Several recommended The Cairo trilogy (Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street) by Naguib Mahfouz. It covers a time period that would provide an excellent overview into 20th century Arab experience both politically and socially, especially vis-à-vis Arab/Western interaction. It is a family saga and therefore provides a good view of modern Arab family life and the affects modernization has had on it. It's urban setting and action would be more familiar to Americans than a more rural tale. The books are written from a genuinely Arabic sensibility language-wise-a sensibility not overly degraded by translation. And, finally, it would be a "less difficult" introduction to Arabic culture than other possibilities.
It should be noted that "less difficult" is not that same as "easy" or "easier". This marks an important distinction, one underscored by these books. Arabic language, society and sensibilities are colored much more by nuances and multiple permutations on a few basic themes than is true in Western society.
Naguib Mahfouz is a Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian novelist who adeptly and adroitly captures these nuances and evokes a genuine feel for-if not true understanding of-their intrinsic roots within the Arabic weltanschauung.
Clearly, based on the reviews to date for this book, there are many who have difficulty with this dynamic. These are the folks who probably are unable to split hairs and see the distinction between "less difficult" and "easier". If you are that sort of person I have to say quite honestly that you are going to be both frustrated and bored by this book or any of the series.
If you are the sort who relishes a challenge, truly wants to try to get a feel for and understand Arabic social and political views and don't mind putting a bit of effort into that undertaking, you will find reading any or all of these books a rewarding experience indeed.
Rating: 2
Summary: tedious
Comment: I absolutely LOVED Palace Walk, and couldn't wait to read the second book of the trilogy. But unlike the first, I found myself reading the same page over and over again until I finally gave up. I don't understand it, because people I respect recommended this highly. But I just couldn't get into it..about halfway through, I realized that I had had enough of Al Saed Ahmad's philandering and Yasin's arrogance and Kamal's whining. Nothing seemed to change from the first book, it was just more of the same, so I wondered why did Mahfouz bother? What am I missing here?
Rating: 3
Summary: Not as good as Palace Walk
Comment: A continuation of Palace Walk, the story seemed to drag on. I found Kamal's intellectual transformations interesting, but quickly tired of Yasin's escapades and the focus on men and their indiscretions with women. Mahfouz also used analogies sometimes to excess.
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Title: Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz ISBN: 0385264666 Publisher: Anchor Books/Doubleday Pub. Date: 01 January, 1991 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Harafish by Naguib Mahfouz, Catherine Cobham ISBN: 0385423357 Publisher: Anchor Books/Doubleday Pub. Date: 01 April, 1995 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The Journey of Ibn Fattouma by Naguib Mahfouz, Denys Johnson-Davies ISBN: 0385423349 Publisher: Anchor Books/Doubleday Pub. Date: 01 November, 1993 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Beginning and the End by Naguib Mahfouz ISBN: 0385264585 Publisher: Anchor Books/Doubleday Pub. Date: 20 October, 1989 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz ISBN: 0385264763 Publisher: Anchor Books/Doubleday Pub. Date: 01 January, 1992 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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