The Quarter

Newly discovered collection of unpublished stories by key figure and Nobel Prize winner in literature, these fable-like stories carry Mahfouz's signature observations of the human character, taking the reader deep into the beating heart of Cairo `A master of both detailed realism and fabulous storytelling'' `A towering literary figure, and the joyous chronicler of a turbulent Egyptian century'' `The Arab Tolstoy'' `Smooth reading ... a compelling experiment in sound and echo'' `Masterly ... Unmistakably Cairene ... translated with practised clarity by Roger Allen'' `Egypt''s greatest living writer ... one of the world''s most humane literary figures'' `Adds yet another essential chapter to the oeuvre of a literary figure of greatness'' ''This new folio of interconnected stories is very much part of Mahfouz''s late experiments'' `A glimpse into a world that seems both ancient and distant ... [Mahfouz''s] "simple" characters reveal to the reader not just the brutality of everyday life but also its distorted beauty. They show the complexities and uniqueness of their world and in doing so offer lessons for all of humanity to draw on ... a teasing glimpse of Mahfouz''s work ... seek it out'' `Naguib Mahfouz''s legacy as Egypt''s greatest novelist is sustained with these engaging short stories ... their themes are timeless'' ‘Exceptional … a charming book … Mahfouz plunges his readers into a world gleaming with folktales, moral allegories, and strange, otherworldly occurrences … The Quarter is a recommended read for those who want to understand how the Arab world’s most celebrated novelist earned the title “The Master.”’ Meet the people of Cairo''s Gamaliya quarter. There is Nabqa, son of Adam the waterseller who can only speak truths; the beautiful and talented Tawhida who does not age with time; Ali Zaidan, the gambler, late to love; and Boss Saqr who stashes his money above the bath. A neighbourhood of demons, dancing and sweet halva, the quarter keeps quiet vigil over the secrets of all who live there. This collection by pre-eminent Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz was recently discovered among his old papers. Found with a slip of paper titled `for publishing 1994'', they are published here for the first time. Resplendent with Mahfouz''s delicate and poignant observations of everyday happenings, these lively stories take the reader deep into the beating heart of Cairo.

• | Author: Naguib Mahfouz, Roger Allen
• | Publisher: Saqi Books
• | Publication Date: Jul 01, 2019
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language: eng
• | Binding: Hardback
• | ISBN-13: 9780863563751
• | ISBN-10: 0863563759