Description
Book SynopsisNaguib Mahfouz, the first and only writer of Arabic to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature, wrote prolifically from the 1930s until shortly before his death in 2006, in a variety of genres: novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, a regular weekly newspaper column, and in later life his intensely brief and evocative Dreams. His Cairo Trilogy achieved the status of a world classic, and the Swedish Academy of Letters in awarding him the 1988 Nobel prize for literature noted that Mahfouz "through works rich in nuance-now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous-has formed an Arabic narrative art that applies to all mankind."Here Denys Johnson-Davies, described by Edward Said as "the leading Arabic-English translator of our time," makes an essential selection of short stories and extracts from novels and other writings, to present a cross-section through time of the very best of the work of Egypt's Nobel literature laureate.
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter 1: Novels, includes excerpts from:
Thebes at War, 1944
Khan al-Khalili, 1946
Midaq Alley, 1947
The Beginning and the End, 1949
The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Sugar Street, Children of the Alley 1956–57
The Thief and the Dogs, 1961
Adrift on the Nile, 1966
Miramar, 1967
Mirrors, 1972
Karnak Café, 1974
Fountain and Tomb, 1975
The Harafish, 1977
Arabian Nights and Days, 1979
The Journey of Ibn Fattouma, 1983
Before the Throne, 1983
Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth, 1985
The Day the Leader Was Killed, 1985
Morning and Evening Talk, 1987
Chapter 2: Short Stories, includes:
The Return of Sinuhe, 1941
Zaabalawi, 1962
The Conjuror Made Off with the Dish, 1969
The Answer is No, 1989
Half a Day, 1989
A Long-term Plan, 1989
Forgetfulness, 1984
The Reception Hall, 1996
Traveler with Hand Luggage, 1996
The Rose Garden, 1999
Chapter 3: Autobiographical Works, includes excerpts from:
Echoes of an Autobiography, 1994
The Dreams, 2000
Dreams of Departure, 2004
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