I should, of course, preface all this by stating that I'm not particularly drawn to literature from the Middle East. In that sphere, at least, I feel that "East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet". The characters and motivations usually seem, at best, alien, and at worst, asinine.
That having been said, I don't get the feeling that the Egypt of today is all that different from that of Mahfouz. Certainly, the results of the parliamentary elections seem to reinforce that feeling. Sure, there are a few more Westernized people, but by and large it's still the highly conservative society that Mahfouz depicted.
I'm sure lots of people will like The Yacoubian Building, though, if for no other reason than it's a faster read than the entire Cairo Trilogy. I do think you owe it to yourself to finish Mahfouz, though.
That having been said, I don't get the feeling that the Egypt of today is all that different from that of Mahfouz. Certainly, the results of the parliamentary elections seem to reinforce that feeling. Sure, there are a few more Westernized people, but by and large it's still the highly conservative society that Mahfouz depicted.
I'm sure lots of people will like The Yacoubian Building, though, if for no other reason than it's a faster read than the entire Cairo Trilogy. I do think you owe it to yourself to finish Mahfouz, though.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
Three reviews: The Yacoubian Building, The Monk, A Bride of the Plains
18/09/2012 09:00:44 PM
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Actually, it sounds like a bad copy of Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy
18/09/2012 09:06:40 PM
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I've yet to read the final two books of that trilogy.
18/09/2012 09:36:33 PM
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Mahfouz tackles almost all those "taboos".
18/09/2012 11:20:59 PM
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