Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy)
by Naguib Mahfouz
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Read in May, 2008
Because the author, Naguib Mahfouz, won a Nobel Prize, I chose this for my first attempt at non-Western literature. I find it doesn't directly compare to any particular Western authors. How can I decribe it, then?
The book is an exploration of the network of relationships that hold a society together. It focuses on the life of a family in Cairo during World War I. But the real story isn't the family; it's the way they're situated within the social structure of the era.
The author controls...more
The book is an exploration of the network of relationships that hold a society together. It focuses on the life of a family in Cairo during World War I. But the real story isn't the family; it's the way they're situated within the social structure of the era.
The author controls...more
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Read in May, 2008
I was frustrated with this book...I was expecting more...
I struggled through the first 150 pages, just trying to become interested in the characters and see where the story was headed. The family was so far outside of my experience that I found them difficult to relate to.
The father was overbearing, cruel, distant, prideful and hypocritical. He saved his best and most pleasant traits for his friends and his family was left with a far-removed disciplinarian. And he never changed. Amin...more
I struggled through the first 150 pages, just trying to become interested in the characters and see where the story was headed. The family was so far outside of my experience that I found them difficult to relate to.
The father was overbearing, cruel, distant, prideful and hypocritical. He saved his best and most pleasant traits for his friends and his family was left with a far-removed disciplinarian. And he never changed. Amin...more
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Read in December, 2007
This is a very interesting book. It tells the story of a middle class Egyptian family in the waning days of WWI and during Egypt's bid for independence from the British. It is a very touching story. I recommend reading a little about what happened in Egypt 1915-1920, because some of the incidents that the author could assume his Egyptian/Middle Eastern audience would be familiar with were missed by my history education in the U.S.
I found it difficult to understand sometimes. I think that s...more
I found it difficult to understand sometimes. I think that s...more
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I'm not really sure yet what the point of this book will be, although I'm more than halfway through. So far as I can tell, it just chronicles the life of a family in Cairo during WWII. The family is headed by an ultra-conservative patriarch, and most of the plot points arise from his tyrannical approach to almost every situation the family encounters. It is ingeniously written, however, so that, as a reader, you don't despise the man. Suprisingly, you come to understand his innermost sentime...more
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I read this book several years ago, but I did not feel like I remembered enough of it since I wanted to finish reading the series. I am very glad I decided to reread it - I have a greater understanding of Islam and Egypt than when I first read it (although that is hardly necessary in order to enjoy the book) and I feel like I got a lot more out of it this time around.
Perhaps the most captivating aspect of this book is its ability to bring people alive. These characters live in a completely...more
Perhaps the most captivating aspect of this book is its ability to bring people alive. These characters live in a completely...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2006
as it states on the back of the book, NM has a real gift for bringing a past and foreign culture into your mind, and making it seem as though you are the one who is out of place-that this ancient place is real, and their customs are the norm. in the palace walk series, he has chosen to introduce us to a family, but only to show us the inner workings of a few characters. i worked my way through the trilogy twice, back to back, in order to figure out why he chose the characters he chose... i can't...more
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I loved the story and the characters, but didn't like the translation. It seemed a little too flowery. Mahfouz portrays the complexity of the gender norms and familial practices in Cairo during the first world war in a nonjudgmental and non-pedagogical manner. He describes Cairo on the brink of radical social change into the modern world and liberation, a world entirely threatening to the peaceful familial sanctuary as seemingly achieved by archaic cultural norms, which, among other things, forb...more
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Read in January, 1997
recommends it for:
Those interested in Egypt in the twentieth century.
I am surprised to realize it has been ten years since I read this book but I have not forgotten the impact it had of setting the stage for this trilogy of books.
I found the leisurely pace of writing took some getting used to, but I persevered and was rewarded.
I found the descriptions of life for the middle class patriarch of a Cairo family vivid and illuminating of my understanding of the attitudes and behaviors of Egyptians.
It was also a good introduction to understanding the mood that led t...more
I found the leisurely pace of writing took some getting used to, but I persevered and was rewarded.
I found the descriptions of life for the middle class patriarch of a Cairo family vivid and illuminating of my understanding of the attitudes and behaviors of Egyptians.
It was also a good introduction to understanding the mood that led t...more
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Read in April, 2007
I loathed the father and was incredibly frustrated with the mother. I had a difficult time understanding most of the characters. Sometimes, especially when there are the cultural and era differences there are here, I have tremendous interest in a book; here it made it very difficult for me to read it. I’m not sure why as I’ve adored plenty of books with evil or unappealing characters. I did begin to enjoy it a bit more toward the end and I should probably give the next two books in the trilo...more
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Read in October, 2006
Awesome book, I read it after hearing about Mahfouz's death and they were talking about his major works. I wish I knew more about the historical context in which this was written, Egyptian reception of it, etc. My understanding is that it was well received by all, although the book portrays the patriarchal society and its hypocrisies in pretty negatively. So I haven't checked up on any of that background info about the book, though I really should. Great book. Pretty long, but good the whol...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to Michelle by:
Michelle D.
Yet another book that makes me feel an increase of gratitude for the freedoms I enjoy. The Egyptian women in Palace Walk are, for the most part, not allowed to leave their home, not allowed to be seen by men outside of their family. Their marriages are arranged, usually to men they have never before met. Most interesting to me was how Amina, the mother of the family, seemed to be completely submissive and content with her lot. I don't know that is even possible. Very interesting characters, good...more
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Read in August, 2005
I was introduced to the Cairo Trilogy by a friend in college and I'm so glad I began reading the books. The pace of Palace Walk is leisurely. It tells the stories of a family living in Egypt during the 1910's. The family's struggles with tradition and modernity mirror those of the nation. The novel lacks the momentum found in some other books, but insight into family life, human interaction, Egyptian culture is priceless. [A side perk is that Mahfouz is the only writer of Arabic to w...more
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Mr. Mahfouz won the Nobel Literature Prize in 1988. I read once that if you wanted to understand or gain insights into the Mideast and Muslins his books provided a clear vision of that culture. Although I've only read one book of this trilogy - titled the Cairo Trilogy - I do hope to read all three. So if you like long epics and/or are taking a long plane/boat ride I think you would do well to pack Mr. Mahfouz's trilogy and enjoy following the lives of the Muslin family Mr. Mahfouz carefully ...more
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Destined I believe to become one of my favorite books.
Although not necessarily a complicated story, the details and emotion that Mahfouz writes with are so capitvating I found myself anxiously looking forward to what would happen next to the characters. This is a tale of one family and their lives in Cairo in the early 1900's. Although it is fiction, I think it gave me some interesting insights in to Egyptian culture and life through the eyes of his memorable characters. Lucky me there are ...more
Although not necessarily a complicated story, the details and emotion that Mahfouz writes with are so capitvating I found myself anxiously looking forward to what would happen next to the characters. This is a tale of one family and their lives in Cairo in the early 1900's. Although it is fiction, I think it gave me some interesting insights in to Egyptian culture and life through the eyes of his memorable characters. Lucky me there are ...more
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this is part of the Cairo Trilogy and includes Palace of Desire and Sugar Street. Cairo in the 1920's seemed like a beautiful place in so many ways. The richness, research and texture in that comes to life in these stories are vibrant and while these are "period pieces" the characters and questions about democracy and the price one pays for it are relevant today. Kamal is the voice of modern day Egyptian ideas and psychological crises and is Mafouz's most autobiographical representatio
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I love books that take place in interesting locations and time periods and this is no exception. It is fasinating as the story rotates from the womens perspective of their lives in Cairo confined to their house to the patriarical father who rules his home almost cruely yet is known to his friends in a completely different way. The descrptions of the city itself and the politics occuring at the time provide a interesting background to the main storyline of each of the family members lives.
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Read in December, 2006
A novel of expansive scope, the first in the Cairo Trilogy, Mahfouz's (pronounced MOCK-fooz) "Palace Walk" is a beautifully paced, unstintingly in-depth survey of an Egyptian family struggling with changes both internal and external. The large battles are with Nationalism, societal mores, the British; the smaller battles are with each other, their desires, and their own lives. Read it slowly and savoringly.
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Read in January, 1992
recommends it for:
Everyone, everywhere
years ago I nicked this book off my mothers bookshelf, intrigued by the cover design, exotic authors name and the "winner of the nobel prize" label. Last year I snuck it out again, stuck it in my suitcase and she will never see this book again (at least not this copy). A historical, cultural, religious, familial, amazing novel. Everything about it is engaging. Read it now!!
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Read in March, 2007
This book is book one of a trilogy that I had read a review of on Egyptian Airlines in their inflight magazine back in December. Then my book club chose it the very next month. I enjoyed it immensely and am looking forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy. There is a high attention paid to the everyday details of life in Cairo during the British occupation.
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Read in September, 2007
I really loved this book. It's so easy to look at Islam and find fault with the religion and/or the culture, at least in today's world, but this was a very eye opening experience. To be submerged into a family and see things through their eyes, amazing. If you have any interest in Islam or in Egypt in the early twentieth century, you should really read this book.
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