Reviews

მირამარი by Naguib Mahfouz

hazem_walid's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

sidharthvardhan's review against another edition

4.0

“ Ah, you remember! And my self comes back to me.”

Told by multiple narrators in Rashomon style, Miramar is a story of residents of a pension, its owner Mariana and her servant Zohra. Zohra is beautiful and all the three young men are attracted to her, and so there are fights and it all ends with a murder.

That all sounds cliché – right? And even characters aren’t necessarily too complex and there are a lot of things left unexplained especially in the first chapter but the story is also a very loose allegory of an Egyptian revolution and there is a lot of symbolism, particularly in the first chapter and even the interactions are very symbolic.

It is based in a time just after the revolution. If you don’t know what revolution I’m talking about, then it is okay, you don’t need to know much. It was one of those revolutions that failed by getting the wrong kind of success and ended up what all such revolutions do – it took power from old elite and distributed it among new opportunists.

There are representatives of both old and new generations – but there are no idealists in the new generation. Leave alone the wealthy and the opportunist with their obvious faults, even the intellectuals of the new generation are shown as weak and lacking will power. Although Mahfouz has a compassionate view of them all.

Author’s thoughts are represented in the old idealist journalist Amer Wagdi, the narrator of both the first and last generation – and the only man in the whole novel who has only platonic feelings for Zohra – Zohra, probably being a symbol for Egypt itself. The complete failure of the new generation may sound depressing. In the novel, it meant a lot of suffering for Zohra, who is desired by all but no one worthy of her wants to be responsible for her. Yet she is still confident at the end. Amer is hopeful about her having a bright future and his words to Zohra at the end of the novel give an optimistic spin to the failure of the revolution:

“If you've come to know what is not good for you, you may also think of it all as having been a sort of magical way of finding out what is truly good for you.”

tawfek's review against another edition

4.0

رحلة جديدة مع الرائع نجيب محفوظ
اللي تقريبًا كده كل رواياته حلوة اصلًا
المرة دي بأسلوب طرح جديد
الرواية مقسمه لخمس اجزاء
كل جزء بيحكي عنه بطله
و بتكتشف اجزاء جديدة من القصة كل ما بتقرأ لبطل جديد من أبطال الرواية
اتبسطت جدًا بقراءة الرواية و أجلت عشانها حاجات مهمة كان المفروض ابدء فيها

myladydisdain's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

yooya15's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Mahfouz’s portrayal of raw emotion  and the way he manages to completely shift his writing style depending on the character speaking is incredible. I personally didn’t enjoy that the entire book contained the gross objectification of a young girl, even though it served a larger purpose in the narrative — it made me physically coil up with discomfort.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol

freddie's review against another edition

3.0

A decent 3.5/5-star read. Zohra is a young woman from the countryside who works as a housekeeper at a pension called Miramar in 1960s Alexandria, Egypt. During her time working there, five men lodge at the pension, including some douchy, thirsty young men. Drama ensues, naturally. This book has so much testosterone, I can't even...! It's frustrating to read about many of the male characters in this book because they each carry, to varied degrees, some patriarchal ideas on what Zohra should be or do, but I suppose that discomfort is kinda the point.

moseslh's review against another edition

4.0

Set in Nasser's Alexandria, Miramar explores the fictional story of several incidents revolving around the peasant girl Zohra through the perspectives of four male characters, each representing a different class in Egyptian society. Each chapter, taking place over the same time period but told by a different character, adds a new layer to the story. I loved the way Mahfouz brought in such a diverse set of perspectives, even though the female perspective was noticeably lacking. It made for a very interesting read.

nihilistmermaid's review against another edition

5.0

عندما أكون محظوظة بالدرجة الكافية ليقع في متناولي رواية كهذه الرواية في وقت أنا أشد الحاجة إلي كتاب أقرأه ويقرأُني..
أنصح من يود قراءة أدب راق مفهوم ليس بالعسير أو الصعب بهذه الرواية التي ستخلُص به إلي حكم وعبر عديدة لن تخلو من عنصر التشويق وطريقة السرد الرائعة.

teegsn's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Well written and complex. Wish I had a better grasp on the politics but I could pick enough up to not be lost. 

hickmandw98's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes