Nagib Mahfuz Books

Mahfouz's epic trilogy unfolds the story of a Muslim family in Cairo during Egypt's British occupation in the early to mid-20th century. This masterwork, presented in one volume for the first time, captures the lives of the family led by the tyrannical patriarch al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who enforces strict control while indulging in secret pleasures. In Palace Walk, we meet his gentle, oppressed wife Amina, his cloistered daughters Aisha and Khadija, and his three sons: the tragic idealist Fahmy, the hedonistic Yasin, and the introspective Kamal. As the narrative progresses to Palace of Desire, the rebellious children strive to break free from their father's domination amid the modernizing influences and political upheaval of the 1920s. Sugar Street culminates the trilogy with a dramatic climax, showcasing the aging patriarch witnessing the divergent paths of his grandsons—one a Communist, another a Muslim fundamentalist, and the third a lover of a powerful politician. Throughout the trilogy, the family's struggles reflect the broader turmoil of their country during the two World Wars, as society grapples with change after centuries of resistance. Rich in drama, humor, and insight, this work exemplifies the artistry of a master storyteller.

A series of historical fiction based on the life of a family living in Cairo during the British Colonial period and afterward

The history of a Cairo alley through several generations. Successive heroes struggle to restore the rights of the people to the trust fund set up by their ancestor Gebelaawi, usurped by embezzlers and tyrants. Mahfouz creates in all its detail a world on the frontier between the real and the imaginary. At a deeper level, the book is an allegory whose heroes relive the lives of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Moses, Jesus and Muhammed. Their appearance in a modern context invites the reader to see them as human beings relevant to the present day, not as remote sacred figures - to the consternation of some traditionalists. Most controversial is the significance of Gebelaawi, the immensely long-lived patriarch. Mahfouz himself has said that his character represents 'not God, but a certain idea of God that men have made', standing for the god of those who forget the absolute transcendence of God affirmed by Islam.

The second volume of the highly acclaimed Cairo Trilogy from the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Filled with compelling drama, earthy humor, and remarkable insight, Palace Of Desire is the unforgettable story of the violent clash between ideals and realities, dreams and desires.

Sugar Street is the third and concluding volume of the celebrated Cairo Trilogy, which brings the story of Al-Sayid Ahmad and his family up to the middle of the twentieth century.Aging and ill, the family patriarch surveys the world from his housewares's latticed balcony, as his long-suffering wife once did. While his children face middle age, it is through his grandsons that we see a modern Egypt emerging.

The Beggar, set in Cairo in the early 1950s, portrays the psychological torment of Omar, an ardent revolutionary in youth who in middle age has been left behind by Nasser's Revolution. His conscience has fled. As he struggles with psychological renewal, he sacrifices his work and his family to a series of illicit love affairs, which simply increase his alienation from himself and from the rest of the others. Mahfouz draws the reader not only inside the mind of the central character but also into the conscience of a nation as it tries to chart its course between the often contradictory realms of art and science, idealism and realism. The Swedish Academy of Letters in awarding Naguib Mahfouz 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."

"A sweeping and evocative portrait of both a family and a country struggling to move toward independence in a society that has resisted change for centuries. Set against the backdrop of Britain's occupation of Egypt immediately after World War I, Palace Walk introduces us to the Al Jawad family. Ahmad, a middle-class shopkeeper runs his household strictly according to the Qur'an while at night he explores the pleasures of Cairo. A tyrant at home, Ahmad forces his gentle, oppressed wife and two daughters to live cloistered lives behind the house's latticed windows, while his three very different sons live in fear of his harsh will."

The saga of the al-Nagi family, tracing its rise from obscurity to power, to decadence, to rebirth. A mythic Egyptian tale with a soap opera plot by a Nobel Prize winner.

Set in a tumultuous Cairo neighborhood, this epic narrative explores the lives of generations struggling to uphold their ancestral rights. The alley serves as a backdrop for the rise and fall of various characters, including a feudal lord and a savior, who grapple with pride, legacy, and the quest for freedom. Their experiences mirror the spiritual history of humanity, showcasing the cyclical nature of struggle and redemption. Naguib Mahfouz, a Nobel laureate, weaves a rich tapestry of storytelling that reflects profound themes of human suffering and resilience.