<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: an invaluable, touching experience
Review: Don't let the size of this book scare you off. The chapters are short and are themselves self-contained stories: they make for perfect nighttime reading installments! And the plot, characters and wisdom of the book are consistently illuminating from the first pages to the very end. It is staggering how effortlessly Mahfouz feeds us the richest possible detail without ever allowing the energy of the story to flag. In the wake of war in Iraq, an American reader will be particularly enriched from experiencing this novel. It tells the story of three generations of an Egyptian family between the two World Wars and reveals much about daily life in a Muslim family and the manner in which Western geopolitics impacted Arab life and culture. The pull of Western values and ideas on traditional Egyptian culture is so clearly and persuasively presented that the politics, resentments and even opportunities for understanding in today's Middle East suddenly seem much more discernible. What makes the book a real standout is the way it presents profound life lessons and experiences in such a highly entertaining fashion. Serious political and social issues are explored beside the very real, sometimes ugly and often hilarious foibles of each character. The sincere quest for holiness seems as important and genuine in the lives of characters as the unquenchable thirst for pleasure. Mahfouz never preaches about the "correct path", but rather shares the complicated lives of his characters without sentimentality, prejudice or judgment. The Cairo Trilogy is a breathtaking, uplifting and deeply affecting achievement. The prose is luminous, the incredible evocation of the sights and smells of Egypt unforgettable, the believability of the characters complete. Readers of Mann, Tolstoy, and Henry James will find in Mahfouz a similar command of grand architechture and epic sweep but unlike those writers Mahfouz's prose is light and airy and full of a master storyteller's ease. Throughout the book you marvel not only at the author's command of his craft, but also the clarity of his vision in showing us what matters. In the end, what may make The Cairo Trilogy the most compelling for Western readers is that the family at the center of the tale is so very different from us and yet so like us. As modernity encroaches upon the family of the forbidding Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad and his dedicated wife Amina, you feel the same sense of loss and melancholy that they feel realizing that in the age of television and instant communication and mass marketed culture, the simple splendors of the family coffee hour may be forever behind us. If politicians and religious leaders around the world have shown themselves consistently unable to bridge the gaps between cultures, Mahfouz the novelist must be read if only to reconnect us with the essence of our shared humanity.
Rating:
Summary: The Cairo Trilogy: Timely and Timeless
Review: Don't let the size of this book scare you off. The chapters are short and are themselves self-contained stories: they make for perfect nighttime reading installments! And the plot, characters and wisdom of the book are consistently illuminating from the first pages to the very end. It is staggering how effortlessly Mahfouz feeds us the richest possible detail without ever allowing the energy of the story to flag. In the wake of war in Iraq, an American reader will be particularly enriched from experiencing this novel. It tells the story of three generations of an Egyptian family between the two World Wars and reveals much about daily life in a Muslim family and the manner in which Western geopolitics impacted Arab life and culture. The pull of Western values and ideas on traditional Egyptian culture is so clearly and persuasively presented that the politics, resentments and even opportunities for understanding in today's Middle East suddenly seem much more discernible. What makes the book a real standout is the way it presents profound life lessons and experiences in such a highly entertaining fashion. Serious political and social issues are explored beside the very real, sometimes ugly and often hilarious foibles of each character. The sincere quest for holiness seems as important and genuine in the lives of characters as the unquenchable thirst for pleasure. Mahfouz never preaches about the "correct path", but rather shares the complicated lives of his characters without sentimentality, prejudice or judgment. The Cairo Trilogy is a breathtaking, uplifting and deeply affecting achievement. The prose is luminous, the incredible evocation of the sights and smells of Egypt unforgettable, the believability of the characters complete. Readers of Mann, Tolstoy, and Henry James will find in Mahfouz a similar command of grand architechture and epic sweep but unlike those writers Mahfouz's prose is light and airy and full of a master storyteller's ease. Throughout the book you marvel not only at the author's command of his craft, but also the clarity of his vision in showing us what matters. In the end, what may make The Cairo Trilogy the most compelling for Western readers is that the family at the center of the tale is so very different from us and yet so like us. As modernity encroaches upon the family of the forbidding Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad and his dedicated wife Amina, you feel the same sense of loss and melancholy that they feel realizing that in the age of television and instant communication and mass marketed culture, the simple splendors of the family coffee hour may be forever behind us. If politicians and religious leaders around the world have shown themselves consistently unable to bridge the gaps between cultures, Mahfouz the novelist must be read if only to reconnect us with the essence of our shared humanity.
Rating:
Summary: an invaluable, touching experience
Review: I agree with everything said by the reviewer "imperato", he beat me to the chase. That might tell you something as a reader -- Mahfouz's literature transcends the personal. Again, his writing has qualities that surpass any of the great classics I have known. A soft, yet stimulating style, rich with detail and full of emtotional involvement. You might become enamored with Mahfouz, as I did, and read every last drop he has written. It is no exxageration to say that the ease of familiarity in his writing even surpasses Hemingway. Palace Walk in particular is an intriguing, emotional read. The quality diminishes with each volume, but after Palace Walk you will need to find out what happens next, for this reason you might as well buy the full set of three novels.
Rating:
Summary: an invaluable, touching experience
Review: I agree with everything said by the reviewer "imperato", he beat me to the chase. That might tell you something as a reader -- Mahfouz's literature transcends the personal. Again, his writing has qualities that surpass any of the great classics I have known. A soft, yet stimulating style, rich with detail and full of emtotional involvement. You might become enamored with Mahfouz, as I did, and read every last drop he has written. It is no exxageration to say that the ease of familiarity in his writing even surpasses Hemingway. Palace Walk in particular is an intriguing, emotional read. The quality diminishes with each volume, but after Palace Walk you will need to find out what happens next, for this reason you might as well buy the full set of three novels.
Rating:
Summary: Ranks with Tolstoy in Style and Substance
Review: I am so happy to see the Cairo Trilogy finally presented in one volume instead of the three separate books that it was previously issued as......this single volume will really allow the reader to appreciate the scope and continuity of this epic about the struggles of a country and a family, tracing the struggle of each toward independence and in the context of a rapidly changing political and social environment. All of that said.....let me encourage you to read this wonderful book, which is so beautifully written, a story that pulls you in from the first page and captures your imagination. I always through Tolstoy was my favorite author in terms of character development.....but it's clear to me that Mahfouz is equally talented in rendering characters that seem as real as friends. I cannot wait to read more by this important author!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!!!
Review: I just finished reading Palace of Desire, ot is great. Palace of Desire continues the Cairo Trilogy of Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz. Like it's excellent predecessor, Palace Walk, it follows the family saga of the patriarchal merchant al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad and his children in 1920s Egypt. The changes occurring in the family parallel the upheaval in the outside world as a new generation comes to power, challenging al-Sayyid on the one hand and English rule on the other. The particular focus of this installment is Kamal, a nascent writer who is apparently modeled on Mahfouz himself. The book brilliantly evokes the lost world of 20's Cairo and there are some funny set pieces, typically involving sex. As the story moves along, we get a richly detailed picture of these peoples lives, but seem to be living them in real time. This was a great work, one I recommend to anybody. Other books I like are Salman Rushdie's Midnight Children and Paul Omeziri's Descent into Illusions.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!!!
Review: I just finished reading Palace of Desire, ot is great. Palace of Desire continues the Cairo Trilogy of Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz. Like it's excellent predecessor, Palace Walk, it follows the family saga of the patriarchal merchant al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad and his children in 1920s Egypt. The changes occurring in the family parallel the upheaval in the outside world as a new generation comes to power, challenging al-Sayyid on the one hand and English rule on the other. The particular focus of this installment is Kamal, a nascent writer who is apparently modeled on Mahfouz himself. The book brilliantly evokes the lost world of 20's Cairo and there are some funny set pieces, typically involving sex. As the story moves along, we get a richly detailed picture of these peoples lives, but seem to be living them in real time. This was a great work, one I recommend to anybody. Other books I like are Salman Rushdie's Midnight Children and Paul Omeziri's Descent into Illusions.
Rating: 
Summary: The Scent of Cairo
Review: Naguib Mahfouz through his trilogy has brought his readers back in time to place few have penetrated. His words carry you through the exotic streets of Cairo as though on wings of a bird. Mahfouz makes his readers feel as though they can see, smell, touch and taste what this step back in time is like. This is a great trilogy for those who crave a taste for the exotic.
Rating:
Summary: The Scent of Cairo
Review: Naguib Mahfouz through his trilogy has brought his readers back in time to place few have penetrated. His words carry you through the exotic streets of Cairo as though on wings of a bird. Mahfouz makes his readers feel as though they can see, smell, touch and taste what this step back in time is like. This is a great trilogy for those who crave a taste for the exotic.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest Novels in Arabic Litirature
Review: This novel is considered to be the best Mahfouz ever written through his long career as a storyteller. It consists of 3 parts: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street; and just to make things clear, the above three titles are supposed to be names of quarters in Egypt (with "between two castles" instead of "Palace walk"). The first part introduces Ahmad Abdul-Jawad the merchant and father of 3 boys and 2 girls, and the husband of the weak degraded wife Amina. The story really spans over the way he treated his family firmly, as opposed to his secret way of life, as a self-indulging playboy. The two elder sons play major roles in the story, one of whom is a hard working student and the other is a big time lady's man. Najib Mahfouz made a good job in expressing the two girls feelings about marriage. ... 5 stars The second part continues from where the first stopped, and is agian a good read. It explores what happened after the dramatic occurences in the first part, and the major hero of this part is Kamal the youngest son of Abdul-Jawad. It explores his silent Platonic love with a high-class rich girl. It also explores how he turned from a fundamentalist to a total disbeliever. ... 4 stars The third part is the one I hated the most, it seemed to me as an account promoting communism. It explores the live of the sons and grand sons of Abdul-Jawad, who can't get out of his house. Homosexuality is added to this volume as an extra. Kamal is still studying and writing about philosophy, and is still a big time disbeliever. ... 3 stars And over all, Mahfouz does a great job in expressing the feelings of people, but the only thing I hate about his writing style is that he makes no distinction between the narrator and the hero.
<< 1 >>
| 
