Lizzie's review
Palace Walk (The Cairo Trilogy)
by Naguib Mahfouz
i can't believe i still haven't read this book!
Lizzie's review
Palace Walk (The Cairo Trilogy) by Naguib Mahfouz
Lizzie's review
rating:
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, forbid ladies to be seen by any man outside their family, or even to set foot outside of their homes. My feminist sensibilities were a little shocked by the family dynamics, and pretty indignant, but I was still able to empathize with the characters. Overall it was a totally fascinating book.
i can't believe i still haven't read this book!