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brughiera's review against another edition
4.0
A complex and intriguing book which can be read on different levels. At one level it is a story about residents at a rather seedy Pension in Alexandria and their perspectives on a series of intertwined events occurring during their stay at the Pension involving passion and death. At another it illustrates the uneasy relationships between representatives of different sectors of Egyptian society at a specific period, the early 1950s when the monarchy was overthrown and the Republic declared. Mariana, the old owner of the Pension, a remnant of the formerly dominant Western elite; Amer Wagdi, the once ardent nationalist and socialist; his former foe and erstwhile lover of Mariana, the now dispossessed Tolba Marzuq; the central figure Zohra Salama, the fellaha (peasant), a strong , passionate woman determined to move beyond her social status by her own efforts; Sarhan al-Beheiry, a representative of the new class benefitting from the revolution yet greedy for more as underlined both by his pursuit of the "respectable" wife and his involvement in the black market deal which goes disastrously wrong; Hosny Allam, essentially a playboy still in possession of some land but on the rebound after being refused by the woman he loved because of his lack of education; and Mansour Bahy, perhaps the most enigmatic character, a traitor (informer?) saved from the prison, where his friends languor, by his police-chief brother, but betraying them again by seducing and then abandoning the wife of his best friend, his violent attack against Sarhan unexplained.
The events that take place are recounted by four narrators: Amer Wagdi, Hosny Allam, Mansour Bahy and Sarhan but essentially revolve around the disruption caused by the arrival at the Pension of Zohra, who has fled from her home when her grandfather tried to marry her off to an older man. In this decision to seek her fortune in the city as well as her attempt to learn to read and write and her refusal of the offer of marriage from the news vendor Mahmoud, Zohra demonstrates significant strength of character and independence. Another side of this strong character is her passion for Sarhan and her blindness with respect to the fact that he will not consider marriage with her but prefers to pursue the teacher whom he does not love. Mahfouz would appear to be suggesting that there remain limitations to the advancement of the fellaha. All the men are attracted to Zohra but none can give her what she wants and she remains elusive. Yet the novel ends on a note of hope with Amer's whispering to Zohra that she has nor wasted her time at the Pension as, at the same time that she has found out what is not good for her, she has also been able to identify what is truly good for her.
The events that take place are recounted by four narrators: Amer Wagdi, Hosny Allam, Mansour Bahy and Sarhan but essentially revolve around the disruption caused by the arrival at the Pension of Zohra, who has fled from her home when her grandfather tried to marry her off to an older man. In this decision to seek her fortune in the city as well as her attempt to learn to read and write and her refusal of the offer of marriage from the news vendor Mahmoud, Zohra demonstrates significant strength of character and independence. Another side of this strong character is her passion for Sarhan and her blindness with respect to the fact that he will not consider marriage with her but prefers to pursue the teacher whom he does not love. Mahfouz would appear to be suggesting that there remain limitations to the advancement of the fellaha. All the men are attracted to Zohra but none can give her what she wants and she remains elusive. Yet the novel ends on a note of hope with Amer's whispering to Zohra that she has nor wasted her time at the Pension as, at the same time that she has found out what is not good for her, she has also been able to identify what is truly good for her.
firstwords's review against another edition
4.0
Combined with the previous two books, this guy's breadth of writing is just astounding. This one is Hemingway, through and through (to compare to an American author).
I wish I could write in one sub-genre as well as he writes in three (that I know of so far). I will be picking up other stuff of Mr. Mahfouz that I can find translated.
Reading his three novels has been humbling as a writer.
I wish I could write in one sub-genre as well as he writes in three (that I know of so far). I will be picking up other stuff of Mr. Mahfouz that I can find translated.
Reading his three novels has been humbling as a writer.
eskimonika's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
allieta's review against another edition
5.0
Can't get over how great an author Mahfouz is! Great layered story of the same story from different vantage points. Also learned a lot about the Egyptian Revolutions and culture's responses. Interesting!
samanthalya11's review against another edition
4.25
"Alexandria, Lady of Dew. Bloom of white nimbus. Bosom of radiance, wet with sky water. Core of nostalgia steeped with honey and tears."
bibliohound1's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
abdo_adel's review against another edition
3.0
رواية جميلة والسرد اكتر من روعة بس ماستمتعتش بيها اوي عشان كنت واخد فكرة مسبقة عنها وعن الاسقاطات اللي فيها بس للاسف الاسقاطات دي مفهمتهاش او هي موصلتش ليا كويس .
dreamtokens's review against another edition
2.0
First literature book of the year, and a bit disappointing. I couldn 19t grasp the political subtleties the author was aiming at, since I don 19t know much of anything about the revolution in Egypt, and that was what the whole book seemed to be about. The characters embodied different class stereotypes, presenting kinds of people after the revolution: winners, losers, opportunists. However, there wasn 19t much depth to them and I couldn 19t connect emotionally to the story.