The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street; Introduction by Sabry Hafez

The Cairo Trilogy #1-3

by Naguib Mahfouz, Sabry Hafez (Introduction), William Maynard Hutchins (Translator)

 

Naguib Mahfouz’s magnificent epic trilogy of colonial Egypt appears here in one volume for the first time. The Nobel Prize—winning writer’s masterwork is the engrossing story of a Muslim family in Cairo during Britain’s occupation of Egypt in the early decades of the twentieth century.

 

The novels of The Cairo Trilogy trace three generations of the family of tyrannical patriarch Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who rules his household with a strict hand while living a secret life of self-indulgence. Palace Walk introduces us to his gentle, oppressed wife, Amina, his cloistered daughters, Aisha and Khadija, and his three sons–the tragic and idealistic Fahmy, the dissolute hedonist Yasin, and the soul-searching intellectual Kamal. Al-Sayyid Ahmad’s rebellious children struggle to move beyond his domination in Palace of Desire, as the world around them opens to the currents of modernity and political and domestic turmoil brought by the 1920s. Sugar Street brings Mahfouz’s vivid tapestry of an evolving Egypt to a dramatic climax as the aging patriarch sees one grandson become a Communist, one a Muslim fundamentalist, and one the lover of a powerful politician.

 

Throughout the trilogy, the family’s trials mirror those of their turbulent country during the years spanning the two World Wars, as change comes to a society that has resisted it for centuries. Filled with compelling drama, earthy humor, and remarkable insight, The Cairo Trilogy is the achievement of a master storyteller.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Egypt, Classics, Africa, Middle East, Literature

1360 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Naguib Mahfouz (Arabic author profile: نجيب محفوظ) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. He published over 50 novels, over 350 short stories, dozens of movie scripts, and five plays over a 70-year career. Many of his works have been made into Egyptian and foreign films.

Reviews

[د.سيد (نصر برشومي) · Rating 5 out of 5]

الثلاثية
أطلس مدرسة السرد
جغرافيا الحياة من منظور نجيب محفوط
لا يستطيع القارئ أن يتسلى بصحبتها
سيفكر في هذا التكوين الرمزي
ويرى خريطة عالم
عاصمته الأسرة
وموانبه الصداقة
ومحركه العاطفة
فلنقل خريطة يضعها أمامك
خريطة نجيب
تعرض عليك منحة لدراسة النفس والمجتمع والتاريخ والفن
في ورشة الابن المخلص لأكاديمية السرد
نجيب محفوظ الذي يصمم عمارته الروائية على أعمدة الفلسفة
ويطلق في حديقته أثير المودة
نحن الآن هنا 2019
لكن الأوقات تتنفس
وتستطيع أن تتنسم رائحة العهد الماضي
هناك بين القصرين
إنه الاختيار
من منا لم يفكر في أي سبيل يسلك
وفي أي منزل يحط قلبه
لتدخل مدينته هناك
الآن
في هذه اللحظة الساكنة في وعي طفل يسير إلى مدرسته الابتدائية
طفل تجاوز السابعة بثلاثة شهور
الزمان مارس 1919
يسمع عن سعد الذي يتردد اسمه في البيت والشارع والمدرسة
لا يتوقف الزمن... لا يتغير المكان
مكان محفوظ محطة كونية
نقطة لقاء بين الأرض والسماء تشف عن ماهية الرحلة... وحدة النسق... وتنوع الحالات
بذاكرة طفل سيحتفظ بالعاصمة
كم يشعرك الأدب بنشوة الثراء لأنك شعرت بهؤلاء الذين يعيشون في أذهان الأدباء... من مائة عام
كم يشعرك الأدب بحرمان الفقد أيضا...
تعايش هذه الأجواء
تسعد أم تحزن... أصدقاء لعلهم واقع... لعلهم خيال... لعلهم يسكنون في تكويننا... لعلهم لم يكونوا هكذا ابدا... لعل تلك ملامحهم التي لم يروها...
لست كمال المرتحل في مراكب الفلاسفة غرب المتوسط من سقراط لبرجسون... المتوهج بحضور عايدة اميرة فيردي في قلبه... الوفدي المنتمي لحزبه بثقة لا حدود لها... الذي يكتب في دوريات الحداثة المغتربة... ويرى صورته في أبناء أخته وأخيه وهم يتجادلون في اليمين واليسار... في المثالية والبرجماتية... لست كمال العاشق الغريب المستوعب لثقافة القرن العشرين الذي أدرك سعد زغلول وانتظر مقالات المنفلوطي والرافعي والعقاد وقصائد حافظ وشوقي والشابي وجبران وخواطر مي زيادة وشاهد مسرح رمسيس...
ولست ياسين الذي يتخذ من فلسفة بشار أسلوب حياة... وتسعد نفسه بالغوص في لذات الشبق...
لست السيد احمد عبد الجواد التاجر الفاهم سوق الحياة...
نعيش معهم... يضيفون إلينا ملعقة من سكرية الذكريات بعد أن انهارت قصور اشواق خيالهم... وهم يبحثون عن معنى الرحلة بين القصرين.
مساكين نحن... لم نكن معهم...
مساكين هم سجنهم محفوظ في قفص السرد الجميل ليظل تغريدهم ساريا في أثير الفصل والوصل ينشد مارا يحررهم من سواد حروف الطباعة.
ترى هل رأى محفوظ صورته في مرايا القراء...
أم ظل مغتربا أمام انعكاساته في مرايانا...
سيظل محفوظ طفلا ينادي أعماقنا...
وسنظل نتأمله في شارع الحكايات...
وربما نرى ملامح منه...
في لحظة تنوير تتجلى فيها سمة خفية...
لم نرها في إنسان صحبنا طويلا...
منذ أن تعلمنا فك الخط...
ها هي ذي مائة عام من التنوير...
ماذا حقق أحفاد أحفاد سي السيد...
كل ما تركه في مخيلتنا ازدواجينه... ذاك الانقسام المحسوب بين شدة على الأهل... وسرحان مع العوالم...
لم نحلل الشخصية وننفهم ذاك التصالح الغريب مع العالم والزمن والنفس...
لم نعرف كيف أدار تجارته...
هل انغصلنا عنه أم هو في أعماقنا...
كمال... ماذا ترك من رؤى في كراريس أفكاره...
وهل وصل المحافظون والتقدميون لنقطة التقاء...
وماذا بقى من الوفد بعد مائة عام على ثورة 1919
هذا عام نجيب محفوظ...
ابن المدينة والجامعة والتعدد السياسي والقرن العشرين...
ابن الصداقة مع ناشره السحار وزملاء الرحلة محمود تيمور وتوفيق الحكيم ويحيى حقي وعلى أحمد باكثير...
تخيل أنه ليس لدينا ناقد متخصص في قراءة محفوظ...
أن أديب المؤسسة الثقافية المحلية والعالمية لم يكن مشروعا ثقافيا... واكتفت المؤسسات الأكاديمية بتمزيق أوصال أعماله في رسائل مدرسية لا رابط بينها...

[BookHunter M ُH َM َD · Rating 4 out of 5]

رائعة و كاشفة لفترة تاريخية تمتد على مدار القرن العشرين في الفترة بين ثورة 19 و ثورة 52 لتصور لنا حال مصر اجتماعيا و سياسيا و تاريخيا أيضا
الرواية مشهورة و تم عرضها سينمائيا و تلفزيونيا و كتبت عنها مئات المقالات و عشرات الكتب التي تغنى عن التعليق و التقييم

تصدرت المرتبة الأولى لقائمة أفضل رواية عربية على الإطلاق، حسب تصنيف اتحاد الكتاب العرب لأفضل مئة رواية عربية
بين القصرين تنتهى بثورة 19
قصر الشوق و جيل الأبناء كمال و ياسين و خديجة و عائشة و تنتهى بوفاة سعد زغلول
السكرية عن حياة ما بعد الثورة و عن تسرب الوهن في عائلة السيد أحمد عبدالجواد

يقول نجيب سرور عن صراع الأجيال هذا

والرواية بعد هذا تصوير لعقلية ثلاثة أجيال متعاقبة: جيل الآباء الذين عاشوا في ظل النفوذ الاستعماري، معتدين بماضيهم واثقين من نفوسهم، لا يشعرون بأي مركب إزاء الأجنبي، راكنين إلى أسلافهم وعقيدتهم، وإن عصوا واستهتروا.
وجيل الأبناء الذين تعلموا في المدارس الجديدة واتصلوا بثقافة الغرب ومذاهبه الفلسفية والاجتماعية، فخرجوا شاكين حيارى لا يستطيعون أن يجدوا لأنفسهم نقطة ارتكاز أخرى يتخذون منها دعامة معنوية وروحية، فهم في ملتقى عالمين متنافرين، يبحثون ويفكرون ويعيشون في أثناء ذلك ولا يبقى بين يديهم من صحيح إلا هاته الملذات العابرة التي تهبها الحياة.
وجيل ثالث نشأ في ظل الحياة العصرية وبين أصداء الوعي الجديد والفكر الحائر، فكان عليه أن يتجاوز المتناقضات وأن يختار وأن يؤمن بما يختاره، فهو إذن جيل الاختيار والاقتناعات والمواقف الصريحة التي ينغمر فيها الشخص انغمارا لا رجوع فيه ويتحدى مصيره، فهو جيل يضم الأخ المسلم الذي لا يرى في غير الإسلام حلا لمشاكل المجتمع والعالم، والشيوعي الذي يقاوم مخلفات الماضي ويسعى لإنشاء مجتمع جديد، والانتهازي الذي لا يؤمن إلا بنفسه وبما تتوصل إليه يداه.

يرى محفوظ أن الثلاثية بها خط سير معين للأحداث يمكن تلخيصه في كلمتين - بأنه الصراع بين تقاليد ضخمة ثقيلة وبين الحرية في مختلف أشكالها السياسية والفكرية
تجد مراجعاتى للأجزاء الثلاثة هنا
بين القصرين
قصر الشوق
السكرية

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! painful to see that Egyptian life continues to repeat old patterns, through the later 20th century...and on into the 21st. For me, this trilogy epitomizes what I look for and, in fact crave, in historical fiction. Nahfouz has placed people within families and families within their own parts of society in Cairo during three distinct times during the first half of the 20th century. He has embroiled them in social, religious and political events, as passive and active participants. So the reader is able to be the proverbial fly on the wall, able to get a glimpse of many machinations as they may have played out behind the scenes, in peoples' lives.

I made the decision to read all three books at one go, using a generous reading schedule. This proved to be a wise choice as the first book, Palace Walk, sets the stage for the other two by introducing the major players, setting the stage for the unrest in Egypt and in Cairo itself, under the power of British rule early in the 20th century. The contrast between religious and less observant Muslims becomes obvious and begins to set both family and societal stories in motion. The very human presence of hypocrisy, addictions, etc shows a human story. There is familial love, but socially sanctioned extreme male dominance. At the same time, not all families operate in this same way. So there are contrasts, just as we see today. The world is full of contradictions, as are these very human characters.

In Palace of Desire and Sugar Street, the action moves forward first to the the many family and societal changes of the 1920s and then to the many developments on all levels during World War II. So much happens here to several families, to the city of Cairo and the country of Egypt, to hints of the world at large. And in these changes we readers can see the bases of things that occurred during Arab Spring in Tabir Square, and since. The past is never really gone and this trilogy shows the truth of this maxim for Cairo... and for us. There is much for us to learn from, absorb as we do from any good fiction depicting other cultures.

I highly recommend this trilogy and also suggest the books be read as closely together as possible to maximize the effectiveness of the writing.

[هدى يحيى · Rating 5 out of 5]

سيبقى محفوظ الأقرب بين الروائيين إلى الكمال
وستبقى ثلاثية القاهرة واحدة من أكمل وأنضج وأحكم الروايات المسلسلة

[Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

لو لم يُكتب غيرها فى فن الرواية العربية لكفى
على مدار 1241 صفحة و3 أجزاء تعجز فيها على ان تغمض عينيك وتكاد تعجز على ان تتنفس فيها.

عندما تعرف تاريخ مجتمعك وأسلوب حياته .
عندما تتعرف على خبايا هذا المجتمع وتنبهر بصفاته .

عندما تأخذك بساطة اللغه على الرغم من فصاحتها ويعجزك الوصف الراقى البديع على ان تحدد ماهية شعورك بهذا الوصف وتقف امامه حائرا. عاجزا على تحديد ماهية هذا الابداع . اهو واقعى وحقيقى اكثر من الازم . هل يحزنك تصرفات هذا المجتمع على هذا النحو . ام تقف منبهراام هذا التناقض اللطيف بين السيد احمد عبدالجواد الماجن الخليع والحاج الورع .ام تنظر باعجاب الى السيده امينه وتفانيها على خدمة بيت وسيد تشعر انت انه لا يعطيها حقها وبين يس وفهمى وكمال وخديجه وعائشه . وكل هؤلاء الاشخاص تجد وصفهم اللطيف ومواقفهم الشخصيه التى تراوحت من الفكاهة فى بداية الثلاثيه الى احتدام اللدراما الانسانيه وكأنك تستمع الى مقطوعه موسيقيه كاملة تعزف بانسيابيه رهيبه فتقرأ فى سكون وانسجام وليس بيدك حيلة الى انتظار الاحداث لنظر الى ماذا يحدث.

تطور الاحداث مبهر الى اقصى حد ومن وجهة نظرى فان شخصية كمال هى اكثر الاشخاص ديناميكيه وتطور وتشعر فيها بجزء منك يتكلم عنه محفوظ.

فى النهايه فان وصف محفوظ لاشخاص هو الاروع على الاطلاق. فان وصفه العميق للشخصيات وشعور هذه الشخصيه يجبرك على رفع القبعه والانحناء احتراما لهذا المبدع الذى سطر بقلمه اروع ما كتب بالعربيه فى القرن 20م

[Jan-Maat]

In a way this is a deeply familiar story despite it's colonial Egyptian setting. If you've ever sniffed a nineteenth century family saga, particularly one that stretched into the twentieth century flavoured by the author's progress from boy to writer then you know, emotionally, what to expect, overbearing hypocritical patriarch, meek housebound wife, youngest son en-route via teaching to become an author, add mid novel stone throwing and protests at occupying British, stir occasionally on a low heat...

Perhaps more kindly we might observe that unfortunately or conveniently, despite differences of religion, climate and tradition, people and interpersonal relationships don't actually vary that much. So it is with this family saga set in turn of the 19th into the 20th century Cairo in a lower middle class household.

Most clearly I remember the scene where the family patriarch, upright, moral and dignified to his own family, 'marries' a prostitute and has a raucous party with his cronies. Part of this relationship is observed by his youngest son, if I remember correctly. The greatly the surface stress on dignity and piety, the greater the self indulgent hedonism behind closed doors I suppose Not that I dare suggest that the Archbishop of Canterbury can be found of an evening dancing naked while balancing a glass of champagne on his head, perhaps though when he was younger.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 1: Palace Walk

She told him frankly that he was excessively conservative in his treatment of his family. It was abnormal.

When I started reading this I was immediately reminded of nineteenth century classics such as Middlemarch or Trollope's Palliser Novels, a story where 'the marriage plot' is supreme and where an extended family's dramas play out against a background of political change. But reading the introduction after I'd finished, I see that Mahfouz himself cites The Forsyte Saga as one of his influences (a series I haven't yet read but I have seen the TV miniseries) and that's illuminating since those books chart the final throes of a late Victorian middle-class patriarch and his family's move into modernity. It's an apposite model for this book, only here the story is doubly fascinating for the insight into an Egyptian family in Cairo in the last years of both WW1 and the British Protectorate.

I see from the reviews that many people loathe the father, Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, for his tyranny over his family as well as for what has been read as hypocrisy in keeping his wife and daughters constrained within the house while he goes out at night drinking with his mistresses (of which there are quite a few across the book) - but he's actually a far more complex character than this. I don't want to give spoilers but the deep and rounded nature of Ahmad's personality is one of the highlights of the book.

Surrounding him are his young family: three sons, two daughters, three of whom get married in the book and so bring spouses to the extended family. Inter-generational politics are frequently fraught as the generations, as is their wont, fail to understand each other, tensions made more sharp by the fact of living in the same household. The seriousness is often tempered by humour especially from charming young Kamal, the baby of the family. It's especially fascinating to see life through the eyes of the female characters: they no more want or expect to go outside, have an education, or do anything other than marry and have children than Jane Austen's heroines dream of becoming doctors or lawyers. All the same, there are small moments of subversion such as when a husband takes his wife out to a scandalous night show, or when a woman asks for her own divorce. Patriarchal power may not be collapsing but it's certainly being snipped away at.

But alongside this story of a family, is a more figurative portrait: the sometimes brutal behaviour of the head of the family can be read as a comment on British colonialism which has its own patriarchal edge. The attempts by the sons to assert their independence away from their father's conservative values, work as a stand in for Egypt and the country's search for its own national identity. This doubled reading comes to the fore especially in the final third when, after the 1918 armistice, agitation for Egyptian independence becomes acute, and the revolution in the streets is matched by a number of crises in the family.

It's worth noting that this first volume ends in an arbitrary, way as we move forward into volume 2.

Volume 2: Palace of Desire
Opening some years after Palace Walk, this second book charts the loosening of patriarchal control in the central family, even as Egypt has nominally been given independence though the British are still in control behind the scenes.

The focus is mainly on the men of the family: Khadija and Aisha are both married with children and play only small roles though it's striking that Khadija seems to have inherited her father's will to control in her household (there are some lovely comic scenes around her clashes with her mother-in-law!).

Desire is central and works as a chaotic force as Ahmad returns to his socialising, Yasin manages to get through a couple more marriages, and Kamal, now 17, falls in love. The latter strand is particularly reminiscent of Proust, bringing together issues of love, memory and writing.

The waning powers of Ahmad become ever more poignant as he ages: his grandchildren feel none of the respect and fear his own children had, Kamal asserts his own will over choice of study and career, and Ahmad is increasingly overshadowed by Yasin whose potency grows as that of his father retreats.

There's less of overt Egyptian politics than in the first book, but I feel that this strand will emerge more strongly in the final part of the trilogy.

Volume 3: Sugar Street

Over the course of time, the old house assumed a new look of decay and decline. Its routine disintegrated, and most of the coffee-hour crowd was dispersed. These two features had been the household's soul and lifeblood.

Oh, this is melancholy! Flipping forward again to the 1930s and into the war years, the family who we got to know so well in Palace Walk is fading: Ahmad's shop is closed, too many people are dead, and what once looked so strong is collapsing surely and inevitably.

This feels like the most overtly political of the trilogy: old ideas of Egyptian independence are overswept by new adherences to the radical Islam of the Muslim Brethren and its opposite, communism. It's perhaps a little patterned that Khadija's two sons should represent these two positions, but their fate brings these two brothers back together.

Change is everywhere and is especially calibrated through the shifting position of women and marriage: in the first book, women were essentially housebound, and there's a shocking reminder of their subordinate status when we're told that Khadija, through lack of use, has forgotten how to read and write. Women of the younger generation are now studying in universities alongside men, a key character even working at a radical newspaper. And marriages that were once arranged or forbidden by parents, are now, sometimes, agreed by the participants, even, in once case, takes place secretly without even parental knowledge.

But traditions are not abandoned without loss, and that is especially made clear when parents die. This text, more than the other two, feels regularly punctuated by weddings and funerals.

Once again, there is an open ending which is a little frustrating - I can see that Mahfouz takes a modern perspective on not tying up ends in any neat fashion but after 1300 pages I really wanted to know what happens next to these characters with whom I've lived through three books.

The scope of the trilogy is broad taking us through the sweep of Egyptian history from 1917 to around 1943, but it's done through the intimacy of a central family and its complicated, intertwined branches. Throughout the trilogy, the sense of urban, middle-class Cairo is strong: and the movement into modernity is traced through the houses which form the three titles: Palace Walk belonging to the patriarchal father; Palace of Desire, the home of the eldest son, Yasin; and now Sugar Street belonging to the daughter Khadija and home to her two sons, important proponents of Egypt's options of progress.

Multilayered, intimate as well as expansive, this holds Egyptian culture and history up to critique and finds it both wanting and enveloping at once.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This trilogy narrates the rise and fall of the family of al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, a tyrannical hypocrite who oppresses his wife, terrorizes his children and leads a life of debauchery on the sly. Although he may be the ruler of the family, the one who enables it to function from day to day is his hard-working, slavishly docile and incredibly submissive wife, Amina. His wife and children use different strategies to wriggle out from beneath the iron fist of their husband and father, not all of them in good ways. The various members of this family weather the storms of Egyptian history during the first half of the twentieth century. They go through colonialist rule, revolutions, and two world wars. They find their own ways to cope with the political, cultural and religious upheaval.

I am somewhat at a loss to know how to review this work, as I think that to really understand it, you need to know something about Egyptian history and Islamic culture. And there are a lot of allusions to popular songs and political figures of the day which might seem familiar to someone who is part of the culture and cryptic to someone who is not. So as a Western, Christian reader, I am at a disadvantage. Some of the things that impressed me however, were the following.

Even though some people rebel against their religion and culture, they cannot get away from them entirely because they are so steeped in them. This can be seen in such minor details as the religious phrases used as part of everyday conversation even by prostitutes and hedonists. Several of the characters renounce marriage but they are constantly bombarded from within and without by the traditional idea that the best way to be happy is to get married (to someone the family approves of), settle down and start a family of one's own. The best career for men is one in politics or law, while the best thing for women to do is to get married. And so on...

Another thing is the attitude of the author toward his characters. Mahfouz ironically exposes the vices and even the foibles of the cast members of this vast drama. Thus, the father is a tyrant, the mother is ignorant, one daughter teases mercilessly, her sister is sweet but a bit spoiled, etc. Even so, Mahfouz still manages to make us feel some sympathy for these people.

From a literary point of view, Mahfouz sometimes ornaments his narrative rather self-consciously with similes and metaphors. While they are not exactly "purple prose," for my feeling, some of them do distract occasionally from the story. But this may have something to do with stylistic habits in Arabic literature, so I don't want to comment too much or make any judgment on this until I have had a chance to read more widely and make some proper comparisons.

[Kamal · Rating 5 out of 5]

يا الله، ما هذا!

محفوظ لا يكتب عن الحياة، بل يكتب الحياة.
حيث تجد كل تفصيلة مُبهرة، وكل شخصية متفرّدة.
والأحداث منسوجة بدقة وبراعة، وإبداع وعبقرية الزمان ذاته.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Perhaps Doubt was as much of an evasion of responsibility as mysticism or a passive belief in science."

I don't think there's any significant subject or philosophy of life and nationality that Mahfouz hasn't touched upon in this magnum opus of his literary career. If no critic has, I will go ahead and declare that Mahfouz is to Egypt what Dostoevsky (and even Tolstoy) is to Russia. And yet, the appeal of the book is universal and magnanimous. He is such a crafty writer that he can make you feel sad for even the tyrants and the story's biggest hypocrites. The throes of passion, pain, death, freedom, life, idealism and even common familial life are so vividly portrayed that one can lose oneself in the world of Mahfouz's Cairo.
One paradox that struck me the most was the piety of the sinners of this story, sometimes one is inclined to interpret them as hypocrites while on the other hand it may seem that they have such firm beliefs in the concept of repentance and forgiveness before they die that they keep on sinning and praying: both in extremity. Although, people who see boys falls with British bullets and whatnot on daily basis, its astounding of them to believe that they will die of old age and hence get a chance to repent in time! Oh well so much for human understanding!

[Tsung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally written as one massive novel, Mahfouz’s publisher would not touch it. It was only by serializing it and breaking it up into three books that we get to marvel at Mahfouz’s finest work today. The Everyman’s Library edition also has an excellent introduction by Hafez.

The novel traces three generations of an Egyptian family, coping with its ups and downs, while the country was grappling with political uncertainty.

Palace Walk

The first of the three books is set around the time of the first Egyptian revolution of 1919. It is a story with three layers. On top and what drives the story are its colourful characters and how they interact with each other. In the middle is a rich exposition of Egyptian culture of the time. Simmering beneath is the growing political discontent and a national desire to cast off the yoke of British domination, just waiting to disrupt their lives and change their family irrevocably.

Mahfouz has the gift of creating memorable characters. Characters who evoke a whole range of emotions, from admiration to exasperation, from empathy to despisement.

Al-Sayyid is the patriarch and the centre of the family universe. He is parochial, pigheaded, hypocritical and has double standards. He seems modest yet thrives on adulation. He somehow manages to strike an odd balance between licentiousness and religiosity. He is a bully at home, but when confronted by the enemy, he is a coward.
Amina, his second wife, is totally subservient, yet she has an inner strength which makes her the pillar of the family, rather than her husband.
Yasin, his eldest son from his first marriage, is shallow and an idiot. He is ruled by his bestial instincts rather than by intellect.
Khadijah, his elder daughter, is most like Amina and her second in command. She suffers because of her lack of physical beauty and is rather bitter and caustic. She, too, has an inner strength and a selfless trait.
Fahmy, his middle son, is intellectual and perhaps the most alienated in the family.
Aisha, his younger daughter, is pretty and coquettish.
Kamal, his youngest son, is striking in his innocence and naivety.

The introduction to the culture of the time is fascinating. Four aspects stand out: the intricacies of family life with its hierarchy, the central role of religion in the family, arranged marriages and the status of women.

A key theme cutting across all these is the need for order and control. The most obvious is the tyrannical Al-Sayyid iron-fisted rule over his family. There is zero tolerance for disobedience. Ironically, his harsh way of raising his children has made them weak and timorous, his sons especially. His children long for control over their own lives and destinies, but they cower in deference to Al-Sayyid’s will. They lead imperfect but safe, secure, comfortable lives. They have their moments of contentment, as well as moments of disillusionment. There are parallels in Egypt’s subjection to foreign powers, as a protectorate of the British. The people desire to wrestle themselves free but there are high costs.

The writing of each character is psychological, almost reminiscent of Stefan Zweig. Each character lives within his or her own microcosm, clashing with each other at points. But ultimately they are all swept away by the irresistible flow of history.

Although long, the novel is not draggy. It is broken up into digestible episodes, with almost fable-like forms and lessons, rather than one continuous drama.

Palace of Desire

Drama!

It is difficult to discuss this book without revealing a whole lot of spoilers. This middle book of the trilogy focuses on development of the characters and relationships.

It picks up from the tragedy of Fahmy’s death in the first book, where everyone is in a more subdued and reflective state. Some interesting discussions emerge from their more contemplative state: Kamal about his career choice, Yasin about his love interest. The serenity does not last long as their hidden passions gradually emerge and wreak havoc in their lives. While there is a veneer of propriety and civility, deep down in their hearts they are resentful and scheming.

Her white scarf came down over her lavender housedress, which revealed how thin she had become. She was cloaked in a stillness at times stained by sorrow – like seawater that during a momentary calm becomes transparent enough to reveal what is beneath the surface.

We see through the facade of three characters in particular.

”How fitting it would be for all of us to be united in a single book. Why should we stay here on the ground, since we’re so drawn to the world of the imagination?”


Obsession.
Al-Sayyid. Despite suspending his partying ways, he remains popular and respectable. For a brief period, he seems to have changed from his philandering and dissolute ways. But he eventually gives in to his carnal nature, pursuing the much younger Zanuba, as though he was chasing after his lost youth. Only later does he discover that father and son are lusting after the same woman. Scandalous! In the end, Zanuba, seeks to marry him but he gets cold feet and rejects her. He also acknowledges his failure as a father, yet he does nothing about it. Loser.

Lust.
Yasin. He seemed to have turned from his degenerate ways initially. While pursuing Maryam, he cannot control himself from ogling her mother’s voluminous bottom and has an affair with her. But at least that secret is kept from Maryam. What was far worse was his utter disrespect for Maryam by bringing Zanuba to his home and getting caught. It does not end there, as he looks for prostitutes after marrying Zanuba. Idiot.

Devotion
Kamal. He has great prospects and potential. He is smitten by his best friend’s sister Aida. He is dealt a humiliating blow as she weds his friend Hasan instead. We can only speculate why. Was it scheming on the part of Hasan? Was it Kamal’s own tardiness in courting her? Was she just stringing him along all the while? Or was he never in contention because of his lower social status compared to Hasan? Sad life.


”To attain my goal, you’ll find I’m prepared to sacrifice everything except life itself. My qualifications for this important role include a large head, an enormous nose, disappointment in love, and expectations of ill health.

”The truly amazing love is mine for you. It testifies on behalf of the world against pessimistic adversaries. It has taught me that death is not the most atrocious thing we have to dread and that life is not the most splendid thing we can desire.”

Sugar Street

The third and shortest book takes a different direction from the earlier books. Fast forward to the mid-1930s and things have changed dramatically. Unlike the first two books which detail events at a specific time, the third covers a much longer period from the 1930s to the 1940s. Time becomes the dominant theme here. The French philosopher Henri Bergson, whose theories of time and duration influenced Mahfouz, gets mentioned.

The stories are more varied, rotating between different characters, primarily involving the third generation of the Al-Sayyid family. The subplots are much shorter and do not necessarily have a conclusion. Perhaps time has not only moved on, it seems to be moving faster with the ages. Time is also not kind as issues of ageing and ill health are more apparent.

Politics, politicians and political unrest mark out the chronology of this book. The evolution of society and culture are also highlighted. Perhaps the most obvious changes are with regards the status of women, from being confined to the home to seeking higher education to being in employment (stops short of leadership roles). With all this change, the Al-Sayyid family at risk of being left behind. It is most evident in this conversation between Yasin and his friends about Yasin’s daughter Karima, which sums up the changing times and the anachronistic state of the al-Sayyid family.

”Girls today are a safer bet in school than boys.”
”We don’t send our girls to secondary school. Why not? Because they are not going to take jobs.”
”Does talk like this make sense in 1938?”
“In our family, they’ll be saying it in 2038.”

The impact of social class also started to change, with the Al-Sayyid family moving downwards. Even the respectable Shawkat family was affected. There was a reversal of fortunes as Al-Sayyid’s employee, Al-Hamzawi’s son is very successful in his career and holds a high position while Al-Sayyid’s own family languish in complacency.

Besides, class and property were two existing realities that he had not created himself, no more than his father or grandfather had. He bore no responsibility for them. A combination of struggle and science could wipe out these absurdities that separated people from each other.

There are perhaps three characters who serve as markers for the transitions between the three books. We see Al-Sayyid decline from overbearing patriarch with absolute control to a self-absorbed hedonist with no self-control to a frail invalid with no control. We see Kamal move from ingenuous to idealist-romantic to alienation. The minor character the Shayk, goes from revered to irrelevant to pathetic.

The only immutable things were the streets on which they lived. Palace Walk, Palace of Desire and Sugar Street are actual streets in Cairo. Through the years, these streets retained their identities by the tradesmen who plied their trades along them.

So this is a fitting end to a magnificent tri-generational family history. I wonder where would they be now.

Finally, something to ponder:

Looking at Ahmad most of all, Kamal said earnestly, "The elections were rigged. Everyone in the country knows that. All the same they have been recognized officially, and the country will be governed according to their results. What this means is that people will become convinced that their representatives are thieves who stole their seats in parliament, that the cabinet ministers also stole their posts, that the whole government is bogus and fraudulent, and that theft, fraud, and deception are legitimate and officially sanctioned. So isn't an ordinary man to be excused if he renounces lofty principles and morality and believes in deceit and opportunism?"

Ahmad replied enthusiastically, "Let them rule. There's a positive side to every wrong. It's better for the people to be humiliated than for them to be intoxicated by a government they love and trust, if it does not fulfill their true wishes. I've often thought about this, and as a result I have more appreciation for the reign of despots like Muhammad Mahmud and Isma'il Sidqy."

[Hadeer Khaled · Rating 5 out of 5]

من أحب الأعمال لقلبي 💜

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many wonderful writers have taken me to exotic locales, but one who has been in my thoughts a great deal lately is Naguib Mahfous. Thanks to this man, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988, I feel a special kinship with the people of Egypt. They are more than the TV images of a deadly riot after a soccer game or a street filled with an angry mob. I don't mean to say that those images don't tell a story in their own right, but rather that, having read Mahfouz's Cairo trilogy, it's easy for me to empathize with the individuals who make up the crowd.
The first book in the trilogy, Palace Walk, set in the period during and immediately following World War I, introduces us to the family of el-Sayyed Ahmed Abd Gawad, a successful merchant; his wife, Amina; their two daughters, and three sons. I found it both fascinating and frustrating to spend time with Amina as she waited for her husband to come home after an evening out drinking with his friends. Here's how the book begins:
"She woke at midnight. …Habit woke her at this hour. It was an old habit she had developed when young and it had stayed with her as she matured. She had learned it along with the other rules of married life. She woke up at midnight to await her husband's return from his evening's entertainment. Then she would serve him until he went to sleep."
Mahfouz goes on to describe Amina and her home, making the reader a silent companion as she goes out onto the balcony to watch for her husband. We accompany her into the "closed cage formed by the wooden latticework" and stand beside her, watching her turn her face "right and left while she peeked out through the tiny, round openings of the latticework panels that protected her from being seen from the street." When, finally, she hears "the tip of his walking stick strike the steps of the stairway, she held the lamp out over the banister to light his way."
It would be hard to imagine a life and attitude more different from mine than Amina's. Yet, due to the skill with which Mahfouz drew his setting, I vicariously live her life and respect her attitude, even if I only partially understand it.
Palace of Desire, the second book of the trilogy, takes place mostly in the 1920s and shows the effect of modern influences and political turmoil on the various family members. Kamal, the youngest son, goes to college and falls in love. He meets people whose ideas challenge the orderly world in which he grew up. Sugar Street covers the period from roughly 1935 through the end of World War II. As in the Palace Walk, Mahfouz draws his setting with exquisite detail, so that I absorb the culture and feel a part of this household.
I take vicarious part in the rapidly changing social and political climate of Egypt from World War I through the 1950s. I watch as the old ways disappear and a new world, seemingly without rules, takes its place, bringing unique challenges to each individual. Perhaps the most poignant for me was the plight of Amina. I turned the pages of the first book, longing for changes to occur that would give her some freedom, some control over her own destiny, only to realize that, after a lifetime of knowing exactly what was expected of her, freedom was a bewildering concept. Taken as a whole, the three books helped me understand a little better why change does not come easy in that part of the world. Having been given a glimpse into the life of one Egyptian family, I look into the faces in the crowds in the street and wonder where each member of that family would be in this situation.

[Khawla Al jafari · Rating 5 out of 5]

دعنا نتفق أنّ كتابة مراجعة سريعة لهذه الرّواية محض ظلم ، فهي بحاجة لعشرات الصّفحات حتّى تغطّي بعض النّقاط الرّئيسة فيها ! تخيّل فقط الرّئيسة .
في ظنِّي هاجس الثّلاثيّة الأكبر تمثّل في محاولة الفكاك من السّلطة بكافّة أشكالها؛ الأبويّة ( المجتمعيّة ) والدّينيّة والسّياسيّة لكن فعليًّا الحرية مفهوم معقّد فرديًا ومجتمعيًا .

حاولتْ بعض الشّخوص بخطوات عاثرة أن تفهم وتتعلّم لتتجاوز همزة القطع إلى نظرية في الحرية ، منها شخصيّة كمال ( التي أحببتها جدًّا ) فقد تمثِّل الفلسفة باعتبارها خطابًا ملحًا لإعادة النّظر في كلّ شيء في كلّ شيء!
بين القصرين مركز ثقل الرّواية لكن حتّى لو أنّ الجزأين التاليين تابعان إِلا أنّ فيهما يتمركز الرّهان الجمالي للرّواية .

والله هناك كلام كثير يمكن أن يقال .. لاختصر عليك الأمر بفكرة لذيذة :
ستبقى الرّواية ماثلة في ذهنك بكامل أحداثها وفكرها منذ أن فتحت أمينة عينيها لتشعل المصباح لسي السّيد حتّى إغلاقهما وقول عائشة : لا تريد أن تصحو ..

[Roger DeBlanck · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the level of sheer storytelling, The Cairo Trilogy (comprised of Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street) is remarkable in its depth and scope of chronicling various individuals over three generations in the al-Jawad family. For me, the most satisfying aspect of the three books is the cerebral insight in which Mahfouz investigates each major character throughout the successive generations. The result is a family saga immensely rich in its range of personalities. Readers feel as though they are experiencing emotions through a kaleidoscope. Mahfouz is astonishing with his ability to channel the intimate thoughts of each character in order to unveil their deepest secrets and trace the source of their actions and behavior. Moreover, Mahfouz penetrates the tantalizing matters of the heart. He gives us characters in their most human form. We see them experience pain and joy, hope and despair, and also the perils of love and loss.

The central figure spanning all three volumes is the imposing patriarch, Ahmad Abd al-Jawad. He dominates over his household with the authority of a tyrannical king. He presents himself as a man living up to the highest standards of religion and morality. Among his family by day, he acts like a man of stern principles and devout prayer. Yet his hypocrisy is dually noted early on in the narrative, as he is also a man of uninhibited indulgence. By night, he carouses, drinks, and engages in adultery. He represents Mahfouz's quintessential literary focus on allegory, which is prevalent throughout most of the trilogy. Al-Sayyid Ahmad embodies someone who thinks he is free to do anything he wants without consequence, while at the same time he forbids others from the same behavior. In other words, Ahmad portrays himself as everything he is not, just as the historical backdrop of the trilogy shows how the free reign of British colonialism to do whatever it wants is anything but free of guilt.

Palace Walk, volume 1 of the trilogy, shifts gears from a family saga to a historical drama when Mahfouz begins to highlight the forces and events surrounding the Egyptian revolution against the British occupation. With extraordinary realism and visceral affect, he brings to life the sights, sounds, and motives of the populace to confront the injustices of colonialism. He inserts the al-Jawad family into the center of this maelstrom. Of the five children of al-Sayyid Ahmad, it is the middle son, the idealist and erudite Fahmy, who falls victim to martyrdom, even as his father defies him not to pledge the rebellion of 1919. The oldest son, Yasin, is from Ahmad's first marriage, and he portrays the second generation figure whose misguidance perpetuates the same sins of debauchery as his father. Ahmad's two daughters are diametrical opposites both in appearance and demeanor. The older daughter, Khadjia, has unflattering features, yet she is full of energy and seemingly cursed with a flair for sarcasm. Her younger sister, Aisha, is a radiant blonde with a voice like a songbird, yet she is prone to reveries. The most compelling child is the youngest, Kamal. Prone to playfulness and lies, he is mischievous with inquiry about the world and fascinated with religious studies. The same as all the siblings, Kamal is terrified of his father. Then there is the matriarch, Amina, a paragon of nurturing and caring. She does for her family what any ideal mother would do, and yet she suffers the duality of pretending to turn a blind eye on her husband's transgressions. Palace Walk takes readers through the daily struggles and joys of the family up until the 1919 nationalist revolution in which Fahmy loses his life.

In volume 2, Palace of Desire, the saga of the al-Jawad family recommences in 1924 with the British reaching a rapprochement with the widely popular Wafd leader, Sa'd Zaghlul. In this second volume, the fate of the next generation plays out. After several affairs and scandals, Yasin attempts to find monogamy with his second wife Zaynab, but again he fails to do so. Although Aisha is the younger sister, she is wed off to Khalil Shawkat, and shortly thereafter her older sister Khadija follows suit by having her marriage arranged to Khalil's much older brother, Ibrahim. The children of both these couples are in their infancy as this novel proceeds, but the most compelling figure in volume 2 is Kamal, the youngest sibling of al-Sayyid Ahmad and Amina. Now seventeen, Kamal has passed his exams to earn his baccalaureate. Against the wishes of his father, he insists on pursuing philosophical truths and the search for meaning in an existential world. Kamal's disavowal of religion places him in conflict with his father, who pledges the fundamentalist tenets of Islam. As a free thinker catapulted into the field of modern science's quest for meaning and understanding, Kamal falls victim to despondency after he suffers from the agony of unrequited love. Palace of Desire focuses on Kamal's plight as the central figure of the second generation. His modernist vision of the world, with its reliance on science and reason, reflects the Wafd Party's nationalist ideology of governing the nation free from the constraints of Islam as a political system. When the second book ends with the passing of the leader Sa'd, one sees the parallel between the painful end of an era and the pain Kamal feels with his own lofty hopes for love shattering around him.

By volume 3, Sugar Street, it is now 1935, and the third generation has become the focal point. This generation is most aptly depicted through the two polarizing figures of Abd al-Muni'm and Ahmad, the two headstrong sons of Khadija and Ibrahim. Abd al Muni'm grafts himself to the fanaticism preached by Shaykh Ali al-Munufi, a religious zealot devoted to the budding philosophy that the Quran's teachings should be implemented as a political system and code, even in the modern world. As leader of the Muslim Brethren, al-Munufi ensnares vulnerable young minds such as Abd al-Muni'm during a time in Egypt's history when the country's political turmoil continues to consume everyday society. On the opposing side of these ideologies is Ahmad. He finds solace in following AdliKarim, the open-minded Editor-in-Chief of The New Man magazine. Karim views the Wafdists as the starting point of Egypt's national movement towards independence and democracy. He, however, believes the nation must go beyond developing social freedom. Ahmad latches onto Karim's ideas and supports the mission of The New Man to confront the fanatics, while at the same time promoting scientific mentality. Both brothers heed the patriotic call for revolution and independence, yet both see entirely different ways of achieving liberation from British rule. With a host of other family characters, friends, and acquaintances to supplement the differences of the brothers' philosophies, Mahfouz ultimately brings this grand trilogy to a summation during the government's mass crackdown on political activists on each side of the divide. The arrests of both Abd al Muni'm and Ahmad bring this monumental work to a close.

In its totality, Mahfouz uses the three novels of The Cairo Trilogy to chart Egypt's tumultuous history through the meditations of various family members with distinctively different perceptions on life. He achieves this by also exposing and confronting the ideologies of both repressive colonialism and radical Islam. What he creates in the process is a breathtaking work of vivacity and bustle. The trilogy is allegorical and literal in his depictions of the al-Jawad family as a microcosm for the subsequent historical eras that three generations of the family endure. With everything that Mahfouz accomplishes, what stands out most is how he offers us great insight into the hearts and minds of a vast array of characters. He reveals to us the essence of their souls so that we might seek to turn a mirror on ourselves and examine what it is in each of us that yearns for a better understanding of humanity and what it means to be human.

Having read the trilogy as a singular work, I believe in order to gain the full appreciation of the novels, it is important to read them together as one book. So much transpires and reading the books separately or out of sequence may prevent one from experiencing the significance Mahfouz assigns to certain characters in each generation. For example, the patriarch al-Sayyid Ahmad is unyielding in his authority over his family at the beginning of volume 1. However, with his aging and with the influence of modernity on his beliefs, he is shown as capable of changing. What is uniquely notable is that his grandson Ahmad (one of the prominent figures of volume 3) clearly symbolizes tolerance and open-mindedness. To gain the full effect of this fascinating generational dichotomy, it requires an understanding of Ahmad the grandfather from volume 1. This type of symbolic contrast between characters occurs throughout the three novels, but without knowledge of what certain characters are like early in their lives, the effect of who they are in different volumes may not be as impactful.

[ReemK10 (Paper Pills) · Rating 5 out of 5]

149 readers signed up to read #TheCairoTrilogy for #Mahfouz22. We were always engaged with the characters in this trilogy. It really is quite an amazing feat that Naguib Mahfouz was able to hold our interest as we eagerly turned the pages of this 1313-page doorstopper!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Over the half of a year that I've read these three books this family has become part of me, through their humanity and their flaws.

[Eslam · Rating 5 out of 5]

حسب اتحاد كتاب العرب، هي أفضل رواية عربية، تم نشرها في منتصف الخمسينات
بين القصرين (1956)
قصر الشوق (1957)
السكرية (1957)

بعد نشرها، كتب الأديب لويس عوض مقالًا عنوانه "نجيب محفوظ.. أين كنت؟" أبرز فيه قيمة الرواية والمؤلف.



الثلاثية تعتبر من أولى أعمال نجيب محفوظ، فهي حسب النشر، في الترتيب الـ 11 - الـ 12 - الـ13.

هي عن السيد أحمد عبد الجواد وأسرته، والتي تعيش في حي الحسين، وقت الحرب العالمية الأولى، وتظل الأحداث تتوالى حتى الحرب العالمية الثانية.

السيد أحمد صاحب الشخصية القوية الحازمة في البيت، والذي لا يرد أمره ولا يستطيع أحد التعقيب على كلامه أو قراراته، بينما توجد له شخصية الماجن الفاسق محب اللذات وسط أصدقاءه، حيث يقضون أمتع الأوقات سويًا في بيوت اللهو والدعارة.

أمينة زوجته، التي تعبده عبادة العبد للرب، والتي تسهر على راحته وتنفذ أوامره، حيث رأيه هو رأيها، وجهة نظره هي وجهة نظرها، لا تقول له سوى "يا سيدي".

الأولاد: عائشة - خديجة - ياسين - فهمي - كمال

هؤلاء هم أفراد الأسرة، وهم محور الرواية من البداية للنهاية.

علاقة أفراد الأسرة ببعضهم البعض، بالإضافة إلى التحدث عن أحداث المجتمع السياسية، كما أن نجيب كالعادة تعمد طرح الحالات النفسية لأفراد روايته، بمنتهى الصراحة والوضوح حيث قام برسم شكل كل شخصية في روايته بجميع التناقضات والأبعاد.

حبكة الرواية رائعة وقد يتجلى هذا خصوصا في الجزء الثالث، أما الجزء الثاني فهو الأسوأ وممل.

أختتم المراجعة بتعيلق طه حسين على الثلاثية قائلًا: "أتاح للقصة أن تبلغ من الاتقان والروعة ومن العمق والدقة ومن التأثير الذي يشبه السحر ما لم يصل اليه كاتب مصري قبله"

مراجعة الجزء الأول
https://bit.ly/34ah1CR

مراجعة الجزء الثاني
https://bit.ly/3hCwRcm

مراجعة الجزء الثالث
https://bit.ly/3HHLSnQ

[Islam Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

ثلاثية القاهرة: بين القصرين 1956
قصر الشوق/ السكرية 1957
واحدة من أهم وأشهر الأعمال العربية لأديب نوبل الراحل نجيب محفوظ
الثلاثية التي رسمت الحياة في مصر منذ عام 1917 وحتى نهايات الحرب العالمية الثانية وذلك خلال ثلاثة أجيال
من عائلة سيد أحمد عبدالجواد وعلى مدار 1500 صفحة.
تبدأ القصة بداية هادئة بالست "أمينة" وهي تنتظر في الفجر عودة زوجها "أحمد عبدالجواد" في تصوير لخضوع واستكانة وسيطرة وخوف واحترام.
ويتوالى هذا الصباح ويبدأ نسيم الشخصيات بالظهور من خلال هيمنة الأب وخضوع الزوجة والأبناء والبنات.
ينصرف أحمد عبدالجواد إلى دكانه بالنحاسيين لتتجلى شخصية جديدة مرحة محبة للهو وينصرف ياسين وفهمي وكمال مودعيين البيت كل في طريقه
وتنطلق أمينة وخديجة وعائشة في ترتيب البيت
ثم تجتمع الأسرة بشكل مختلف تماما في مجلس القهوة ، وتظهر المشاحنات والمشاكسات والاراء المختلفة بين أفراد الأسرة
لتزداد تعقيد وحبكة الشخصيات المرسومة.
لعل ذاك النهار الأول في بين القصريين هو واحد من أجمل البدايات وأكثرها عبقرية.
يسلط محفوظ الضوء على بداية ثورة 19 والأسباب الدافعة لها وأبطال الحركات الوطنية مع تأثيره على المجتمع المصري الذي لن تراه إلا في عالم محفوظ الروائي، ذلك المجتمع المحتفظ بعاداته وتقاليده والبعيد عن التأثر بالحضارة الغربية.

وتظهر شخصية "كمال" ، الطفل الذي تربى على حكاوي أمه وكتب ياسين في بين القصريين ثم التأثير المجتمعي الواضح في قصر الشوق والسكرية والبعد الفلسفي في رمزية محفوظ.
ومع ظهور الأحفاد في السكرية تتجدد الدماء وتظهر المواضيع المختلفة كالتطرق للإخوان المسلمين في شخص عبدالمنعم والاشتراكية في شخص أخوه أحمد وحتى ظهور قضية المثلية الجنسية ولو من بعيد في شخص رضوان.

واحد من الأعمال الخالدة في الأدب العربي التي يجب أن تقرأ.

[Kiran Bhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most powerful novels of the 20th century. Mahfouz takes Cairo and makes it his own the way Balzac commands Paris. His depictions of inter-generational conflict and misunderstanding are some of the best I have seen portrayed yet in literature. His translated writing is also not particularly difficult to get into, and so his work is easy to recommend to someone who wants to read something linguistically simple, yet emotionally complex.

[محمد ذهني · Rating 5 out of 5]

رواية واحدة أم ثلاث؟
الجميع يعلم قصة الثلاثية التي وردت على لسان نجيب محفوظ نفسه، بأنه ذهب إلى سعيد السحار برواية أكثر من ألف صفحة اسمها بين القصرين لنشرها، فاعتذر السحار لاستحالة نشر كتاب بهذا الحجم. لا أذكر من الذي اقترح تقسيم الرواية لثلاثية ( لعله يوسف السباعي) فخرجت بين القصرين لثلاثية: بين القصرين ( حيث يعيش أحمد عبد الجواد وأسرته) و قصر الشوق (ياسين) والسكرية ( أسرة شوكت) . ولعل اسم روايتي قصرالشوق والسكرية هو أكبر دليل على أنها كانت رواية واحدة، فلا قصر الشوق تدور في قصر الشوق فقط حيث مازالت الحكاية الأصلية تدور في بين القصرين، ولا السكرية تتعلق بابني خديجة فقط.لكن نجيب كما يبدو أراد الإشارة للحقبة العمرية أكثر منها لمكان القصة. فقصر الشوق عن الأبناء والسكرية عن الأحفاد.

لكن السؤال الذي يطرح نفسه: هل كان التقسيم الزمني داخل الرواية الأصلية موجودًا بهذا الشكل ؟ أعني أنه بعد وفاة فهمي قفزت الأحداث خمس سنوات فإذا بكمال في الثانوية العامة والبنات أنجبن؟ وهل فجأة بوفاة سعد زغلول (نهاية قصر الشوق) قفزت الأحداث ثمانية أعوام فإذا بالأحفاد كبروا وصارت الأحداث في أواخرالثلاثينات ؟

لو كان ذلك هو الوضع الأصلي فكأن هذه الرواية خلقت فعلاً لتكون ثلاثية ونجيب لا يدري.

بين القصرين قد تبدو ثقيلة بعد سبعين سنة من كتابتها ومئة عام من أحداثها. ولكن ثقلها خاصة في نصفها الأول هو نفس ثقل مشهد الحفر ووضع الأساسات لمنزل سيبدو بعد الانتهاء منه في غاية الروعة. ولن يتخيل من يشاهده كم كان منظر المكان ثقيلاً على العين أثناء وضع اللبنات الأولى. فنجيب في نصف بين القصرين الأول يضع أساس الأسرة التي ستدور حولها روايته في ربع قرن. ثم ينطلق مع الأحداث في النصف الثاني من الرواية خاصة اثناء ثورة 1919 لينهيها بمشهدين من أروع ماكتب في تاريخه: مصرع فهمي

“ هم بالهرب أو التراجع أو حتى التحول عن موقفه ولكنه لم يفعل شيئاً،ما وقوفك وقد تشتت الجمع؟! في خلاء أنت،اهرب..صدرت عن ذراعيه وساقيه حركة بطيئة وانية متراخية .ما أشد الضوضاء ،ولكن بما علا صراخها؟ هل تذكر؟ ما أسرع ماتفلت منك الذكريات.ماذا تريد؟أن تهتف؟أي هتاف؟أو نداء فحسب.. من؟ما؟ في باطنك يتكلم،هل تسمع ؟هل ترى؟ ولكن أين؟ لاشئ ، لاشئ ، ظلام في ظلام ،حركة لطيفة تطرد بانتظام كدقات الساعة ينساب معها القلب..تصاحبها وشوشة . باب الحديقة . أليس كذلك؟يتحرك حركة تموجية سائلة ، يذوب رويداً ، الشجرة السامقة ترقص في هوادة،السماء.. السماء؟ منبسطة عالية، لا شئ إلا السماء هادئة باسمة يقطر منها السلام .“

و مشهد السيد أحمد عبد الجواد في طريقه للمنزل بعد تلقيه الخبر:
“ينبغي أن يخرج من حيرته، فإنه لا يدري حتى كيف يحزن، يود لو يخلو إلى نفسه ولكن أين؟ سينقلب البيت جحيماً بعد دقيقة أو دقيقتين، وسيلحق به الأصدقاء فلا يدعون له فرصة للتفكير.. متى يتأمل الخسارة التي مني بها.. متى يتهيأ له أن يغيب فيها عن الدنيا جميعا؟ يبدو هذا بعيداً. ولكنه آت لا ريب فيه، وهذا قصارى ما يجد من عزاء في راهنه. أجل سيأتي وقت يخلو فيه إلى نفسه ويفرغ إلى حزنه بكل كيانه. هنالك ينعم النظر في موقفه على ضوء الماضي والحاضر والمستقبل، أطوار حياته كلها من طفولته وصباه إلى ريق شبابه، وما أثار من آمال وما خلف من ذكريات مطلقاُ لدموعه العنان حتى يستنفدها عن آخرها، حقاً إن أمامه فسحة من الوقت يحسد عليها فلا داعي للجزع، انظر إلى ذكرى الملاحاة التي نشبت بينهما عقب صلاة الجمعة أو ذكرى ما دار بينهما هذا الصباح من استعطاف وعتاب، كم يستغرقان من وقت تأملاً وتذكراً وشجناً؟ كم يستهلكان من قلبه؟ كم يهيجان دموعه؟ كيف يجزع والأيام تدخر له كل هذه السعادة؟ رفع رأسه المثقل بالفكر فلاحت لعينيه المظلمتين مشربيات البيت فذكر أمينة لأول مرة حتى أوشكت أن تخونه قدماه. ما عسى أن يقول لها؟ كيف تتلقى الخبر؟ الضعيفة الرقيقة التي تبكي لمصرع عصفور! أتذكر كيف هملت دموعها لمقتل ابن الفولي اللبان؟! ماذا تصنع لمقتل فهمي؟ مقتل فهمي؟! أهذه هي نهايتك حقاً يا بني؟ يا بني العزيز التعيس! أمينة.. ابننا قتل.. فهمي قتل.. يا له… أتأمر بمنع الصوات كما أمرت بمنع الزغاريد من قبل؟ أم تصوت بنفسك؟ أم تدعو النائحات؟! لعلها تتوسط الآن مجلس القهوة بين ياسين وكمال متسائلة عما أخر فهمي، سوف يتأخر طويلاً، لن تريه أبداً.. ولا جثته، ولا نعشه، ياللقسوة، سأراه أنا في القصر أما أنت فلن تريه، لن أسمح بهذا.. قسوة أم رحمة؟ ما الفائدة؟ وجد نفسه أمام الباب فامتدت يده إلى المطرقة ثم تذكر أن المفتاح في جيبه فأخرجه وفتح الباب ثم دخل.. ترامى عند ذاك إلى سمعه صوت كمال وهو يغني بعذوبة: زوروني كل سنة مرة حرام الهجر بالمرة.“

في عشق الأب الجبار وعقابه

مهما كانت توجهات القارئ فإنه سيقع في حب أحمد عبد الجواد. بورعه المختلط بفسقه. وحزمه المختلط بهذره. وقسوته المختلطة بطيبته.وكبريائه المختلط بتواضعه. وهي حالات ليست فقط تتعلق بوجود مع أسرته أو مع الأصحاب. بل حالات تختلط عليه في ذات اللحظة. فتراه غاضبًا كالبركان ثم يهدأ ويبدأ في الابتسام من ذات الموقف. يستغفر الله لو قال لفظًا به بعض التجديف وهو جالس مع غوانيه. يتعذب من أجل ابنته ولا يسعه إلا إغلاظ القول لزوجها لعرضها على طبيب نساء.

ونجيب الذي يبدو كأنه يحب عبد الجواد مثله مثل أبنائه الذين يضيقون بطغيانه ويعبدونه. إلا أنه على مدى الثلاثية سينتقم منه شر انتقام. ما بين فقد ابن وإلحاد آخر وخزي الثالث يتقلب الرجل في خزيه الشخصي وتلاعب زنوبة به ثم تقضي عليه بزواجها من ابنه وإنجاب حفيدته الوحيدة التي لن ينالها العقاب. بين الموت والسجن والشذوذ ستعاقب تلك الأسرة التي فقدت مجدها مع فهمي كما فقدت البشرية شطرها الطيب بموت ابن آدم وبقاء ذرية القاتل. ستتعذب عائشة رمز الجمال كما كان فهمي رمز الطيبة والأخلاق،كي لا يبقى في المزاود إلا شر البقر. وستشهد الثلاثية أحمد عبد الجواد حبيس المنزل وأمينه تنطلق لتزور بناتها وقبر ابنها وأولياء الله. فنجيب الذي يبدو للبعض لا يتحدث إلا عن الفسق والفساد، إلا أنه يبدو دائمًا كالجلاد لأبطاله، فلا تني لو ركزت على نهايات أعماله أن تدرك أنه – وياللسخرية- كاتب أخلاقي في المقام الأول

كمال ورحلة الشك

قصر الشوق تتحدث في الأغلب عن كمال وتحوله من متدين عاشق لملحد معذب. من شخص لا يطيق فكرة أكل آل شداد للحم الخنزير وشربهم البيرة، إلى سكير وزبون أبدي لبيوت الدعارة. لخص نجيب تحوله هذا في التأملات التي كتبها يوم ميلاده. وقت كتابة تلك التأملات كان كمال قد أصبح لا ديني. مازال حائرًا في فكرة الرب لكن سيطرت عليه فكرة أن العلم والفلسفة هما النجاة من الجهل والخرافة فكان بينه وبين أبيه حديثًا طريفًا نظرًا لنشره مقال عن نظرية دارون وأن الإنسان منحدر من القردة: “حقًا لقد تعذب كثيرًا ولكنه لن يقبل أن يفتح قلبه من جديد للأساطير والخرافات التي طهره منها، كفى عذابًا وخداعًا، لن تعبث بي الأوهام بعد اليوم، النور النورَ، أبونا آدم! لا أب لي، ليكن أبى قردًا إن شاءت الحقيقة، إنه خير من آدميين لا عدد لهم، لو كنت من سلالة نبي حقًا ما سخرت منى سخريتها القاتلة!"
لذلك كانت تأملات كمال عن الخلق. خلقه هو من نطفة ، نطفة قذفت بها رغبة بريئة في اللذة أو حاجة ملحة إلى العزاء أو صولة هياج بعثتها سكرة غاب فيها الرشاد أو حتى مجرد إحساس بالواجب نحو الزوجة القابعة في البيت.

وبعدها تطور النطفة لعلقة تمامًا كما يصورها القرآن. ليخرج منها إنسان أتخم بالعقائد. وعشق عشقًا إلهيًا فلما زال زلزلت عقيدته الرئيسية. فعشق كمال لعايدة أشبه بعشق الإنسان لربه في عليائه حتى تلك اللحظة التي يدرك فيها أنه مجرد إنسان وضيع لن يبلغ خالقه فيروم التحرر من ربه. حتى أن كمال في السكرية تمنى لو أنه قابل عايدة فقالت له أنها أحبته لكنها لم تستطع مخالفة أسرتها، حينها والرأي لكمال كانت حياته كلها لتصبح ذات قيمة في نظره ولهان كل عذابه وسنين وحدته، وربما- في رأيي- لعاد للإيمان بالله. تمامًا مثل الإنسان الذي لو اطمأن لوجود ربه ورضاه عنه لتغير سلوكه وهدفه وحياته كلها.

كمال صور حيرته التي كانت جزءً من حيرة محفوظ نفسه على مايبدو في ذلك المقطع الذي يحمل السؤال: هل تؤمن بوجود الله؟

هو لم يجب ولكنه أصر على التحرر من الخرافات والتمسك بالعقل. ذلك الذي قاد محفوظ نفسه في رحلة عنيفة لا نعرف متى أنهاها. مع عرفة عندما عرف أن جده الجبلاوي مات راضيًا عنه أم جعفر الراوي الذي أعلن عن عجزه عن الكفر بالله. أم شطا الحجري الذي أعلنها واضحة وصريحة: هيهات أن تتزعزع ثقتي به؟

الثلاثية وقراءة أخرى

تبدو قراءة الثلاثية في تلك المرحلة من العمر مختلفة، منذ عشرين عامًا كانت رواية بها متعة وكآبة وتشعر معها بالحيرة من قسوة محفوظ القدرية و قرارات أبطاله المدمرة. لكن الآن وأنا في مرحلة أحمد عبد الجواد العمرية في بين القصرين وأشعر بهصرة الألم لفقده ابنه الحبيب. أشعر بقهر الرجال حقًا ليس لبراعة محفوظ في الوصف ولكن أيضًا لأنني صرت أفهم أكثر ما ذلك الشعور، وما فعل محفوظ إلا أن عبر عني كما عبر عن أحمد عبد الجواد. ثم أجدني في عمر كمال أحمد عبد الجواد في السكرية أعيش وداعه لكل شيء طيب أو قبيح. الأصدقاء، الحبيبة، الدين، مقهى أحمد عبده، الأفكار التي يؤمن بها ولا يلبث ان ينبذها، البارات، ماخور جليلة، ثم وداعه للأب الجبار لتبدأ مرحلة الأب اللطيف الصديق،ثم يودعه للأب القعيد الضعيف، ثم وداع للأب ككل.يبدو الحزن هنا يتسرب بطيئًا كما الحياة. لكن وداع أمينة كان قاهرًا صادمًا.

“ لم يكن يتصور أن موتها سيحمل قلبه هذا الألم كله، ألم يألف الموت بعد؟..بلى، ولديه من العمر والتجربة ما يقيه الجزع، ولكن لذعة الفراق الأبدي موجعة، ولعله مما يلام عليه قلبه أن رغم ما كابد من ألم يتألم كالقلب الغض. كم أحبته، وكم أحبت الجميع، وكم أحبت كل شيء في الوجود، ولكن هذه السجايا الطيبة لا تعيها النفس إلا عند الفراق، ففي هذه اللحظة الخطيرة تزدحم ذاكرتك بصور وأماكن وأزمنة وحوادث يهتز لها من أعماقه، وها هي يخالط نورها الظلام، وتمتزج فيها زرقة الفجر بحديقة السطح، ومجمرة مجلس القهوة بالأساطير، وهديل الحمام بأغنيات حلوة، وكان حبًا رائعًا أيها القلب الجاحد، ولعلك تقول غدًا بحق إن الموت استأثر بأحب الناس إليك، ولعل عينيك أن تدمعا حتى يزجرك المشيب. والنظر إلى الحياة كمأساة لا يخلو من رومانتيكية طفلية والأجدر بك أن تنظر إليها في شجاعة كدراما ذات نهاية سعيدة هي الموت. ثم سائل نفسك إلا تضيع حياتك هباءً. إن الأم تموت وقد صنعت بناءً كاملًا فماذا صنعت أنت؟”
وهكذا تنتهي الثلاثية بأمينة كما بدأت بأمينة .أمينة هي أصل الوجود. هي الأرض الطيبة التي أنبتت الشهداء والضائعين والمقهورين. بينما يبدو أحمد عبد الجواد كعابر ألقى بذوره في أرضين. ياسين نبتة محملة بالخزي وأبناء أمينة الذين يحملون من الأب الكثير لكن يحملون أيضًا من الأم صفة الحب. ومن العجيب ألا يبقى من تلك الذرية إلا عبد المنعم الإخواني، وكريمة ابنة الفاسق والعوادة. هذه هي الذرية وهكذا رأى محفوظ مصر التي لم يبق في مزاودها إلا شر البقر، لا فهمي ولا كمال ولا عائشة ولا حتى أحمد الشيوعي. وإن كان ثمة أمل فهو أن كمال بدأ يفيق من رحلته الفلسفية بعد أن ودع عايدة وحسين شداد وبدور واسماعيل لطيف. ربما تمثل تلك الرحلة الفلسفية ضرورة لبناء حياة رائعة ومستقبل أسرة طيبة.

لم أكن أتخيل وأنا أعيد قراءة الثلاثية بعد عشرين عامًا أن هذا سيكون تأثيرها في. شعرت بتفاهة كل شيء من الحياة ذاتها ولحظات السعادة التي لا تدوم إلى تفاهة الكتابة وإحساس بأن بعد هذه النوعية من الأعمال تبدو كثير من الكتابات كأنها لا شيء. رحلة بسيطة لأسرة صغيرة في خضم أحداث ثلاثين عامًا من تاريخ مصر بين حربين وملكين وزعيمين وكثير من الإحباطات والآمال الضائعة والراحلين والقادمين. تلك الرحلة التي تبدو عادية ولكن كأن بها سر الوجود. فنجيب محفوظ لم يلخص الكون فقط في الحارة، وليس الكون هو الله والأنبياء والتاريخ. الكون يمكن تلخيصه في الإنسان، في أحمد وأمينة وكمال وياسين وخديجة وعائشة وفهمي، كل منهم داخل أسرته هو مجرة منفصلة داخل مجموعة أكبر داخل كون هو الوطن.

[Sean Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was my review written for the first volume in this trilogy:

The Palace Walk is the best novel I have read in years. In the translation published by the Everyman Library the Cairo Trilogy is funny, biting and tragic with precise descriptions and deeply thought out characters. Though I haven’t read much of the great western popular novelists of the 19th century (meaning, Balzac, Dickens, etc) I get the impression that Mafouz was heavily influenced by them. This book is descriptive of setting and the psychological motives of the characters in a way that is totally out of fashion in today’s fiction. I ate up the long thought passages of the law student son in love with a neighbor he has barely seen, or the minute description’s of the mother’s daily ritual. The characters slowly open to us through daily experience and then, without warning, a tragedy or celebration occurs. The pacing and writing make for a book that hits that sweet spot between well written and highly readable. Unlike so many serious modern authors, reading Mafouz is not work, but it isn’t candy like some of the other trash I have been reading lately.

People’s reactions to Mafouz here in Cairo are interesting. First, they are surprised I have even heard of him. Then, they talk about the movies. In my experience, odds are they haven’t read him. Since I have been here I have heard Mafouz described as a national hero, and as being anti-Islam. I have heard that he exaggerates the traits of Egyptians, that he is the greatest Arabic novelist of all time and that he is boring. I can’t really speak to whether or not he exaggerates the traits of Egyptians, I imagine he does, but I do think he is one of the best novelists I have read in a long long time. It’s exciting to get to read him here, but also a bit of an embarrassment that it took me coming to Egypt to get me to read his books.

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 5 out of 5]

A problem with writing a review of Naguib Mahfouz’s This Cairo Trilogy, (Everman Edition) is that I am not sure if I am the intended audience. A fair aspect in judging artistry is the degree to which the work achieves universality. This goal has to be measured against the context from which the author is writing. In this trilogy it is clear we are reading the work of an artist. Not just my opinion, Mafouz is a Nobel Prize winner. He is also one of the founders of modern Arabic Literature. A large title for the culture that gave us many of our oldest stories. For those who track these things: The major themes are adult but a parent can be proud of such of their children attempt these 1300 pages and not concerned that they might read bad words.

Published in the years 1956 and 1957, The Cairo Trilogy takes us into the household of Al-Sayyid Ahmad 'Abd al-Jawad. There is a multi-level household on Palace Walk in the highly traditional (Observant Muslim) Gamaliya Street in Cairo. The time line begins in World War I and continues past Word War II. The family is the author’s invention but the street, district, history and of particular note the nearby Mosque of al-Hisayn (considered the holiest site in Cairo) are all factually correct. So much of the novel is drawn from reality that one has to be careful least the confusion over words like semi-autobiography cause the reader to misunderstand the creative of the novelist. However much people and place mirror the life of the writer, the creativity is in the presentation of the story rather than adherence to the objective facts. Mahfouz has several stories to tell and what of these stories are inspired from life and how much he sticks to the fictional ‘truth’ of his characters is what matters.

And what characters. The absolute patriarch of the family Al-Sayyid Ahmad 'Abd al-Jawad is almost impossible from a modern point of view. At home his inflexible rule is stated as” I am a man. I’m the one who commands and forbids…”He is the terror of his household who love him even as they fear him and will lie rather than deepen his wrath. He has a secret life that makes him less sympathetic. His Wife, Amina is so willingly complicit in her husband’s domestic tyranny and willfully blind towards his secrets that again, it will be hard for a modern reader to get past a few chapters. These adaptations were not hard for me, but they are only a few aspects of the novel that make it hard for a western reader to become engaged in this family.

The family consists of 3 sons. They will dominate the bulk of the three books. The eldest is the Yasim. He is the son of a prior marriage. He is most often compared to a camel, often as a complement, not always. And here I pause to say that I did not think divorce would be as common as it will be in these books. The younger sons are Fahmy, the family’s fondest hope and highest idealist and the youngest Kamal who will emerge as the intellectual and according to the author is most like himself. There are two daughters, who, given the few number of pages are almost just stereotypes. Aisha, the elder less attractive and with her father’s sense of acerbic dominance and the beautiful and romantic Khadija. By the end of the trilogy there will be a number of characters repressing the merchant classes, the marginalized Women ‘singers’ and the well to do and the political.

Religion will be very much the center of the first book, but by Book 3, Sugar Street it will have almost disappeared, except as it reappears in politics with the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood. The history of Cairo across these years and therefore these books includes a lot of politics. Activist, marches and riots; violent suppression and back room maneuvers each have more than a few paragraphs. This is not a sole focus of the book, but be ready for many pages of political discussion.

This being a review of the trilogy, it could quickly become many pages of plot discussion. Mahfouz leads us through three generations and through them discusses many of the threads that were the domestic and national history of Cairo. Little things like the layout of the house on Palace walk being a typical design of Cairene middle class families and a nod to the needs of its female house hold would be lost except for being mentioned in the introduction.

And this returns us to the problem. Is the audience for the Trilogy universal or domestic? Is he speaking to the greater Middle Eastern Community about uniquely growing tensions within the Muslim world as modern influences have to be part of domestic traditions? Are those of us in the west who cannot be assumed to know how typical this family is or how accurate their portrayal allowed to skip those aspects in favor of the many more universal issues of the books? This family has to address many of the common problems of life. Raising a family, inculcating values, getting educated and providing for immediate and emergent needs. Sickness, death, the philosophy we use to face them and the rest of the usual suspects are herein present. If we are to focus on the universal, than is the context of observant Muslim a matter of making reader view their own lives from a different point of view?

The Cairo Trilogy is a master work. That there is this much to engage the reader is part of the case for. Several of the characters will not resonate with modern readers. Perhaps those readers should reconsider their limits, or at least not project them on Mahfouz. There are certainly pages that might better have been edited out. The Cairo Trilogy is not just a lot of reading it is a lot of book.

[Moushumi Ghosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tour de force, a universe, an adventure, a story of a nation, an epic, a journey and a deeply beautiful story. I feel blessed to have encountered it. Naguib Mahfouz's talent lies in making every one of his main characters multi faceted and deeply human. None of them can be seen as black or white. Each one of them is magnificently rounded and dynamic. Reading The Cairo Trilogy is reading life.

Many thanks to Reem (@ReemK10, @Paper Pills) and #BookTwitter for choosing The Cairo Trilogy (#Mahfouz22) this year. It started on 1 March 2022 and while others finished months earlier I had several distractions (work, life) but I kept reading it even as I read other books. It provided such stability to this year.

I'm actually quite sad that I've finished reading this book. It's a bit like leaving one's favourite people and place and moving on. Except, I don't want to. I would love to reread it in a few years.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd love to give this less stars, but I can't. I absolutely hated the father of the family, I think I never hated a character in a book that much. At some point I even threw the book against a wall, which just isn't me. However, that's a sign that the story has completely caught you, and that the book is great.

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 4 out of 5]

*spoilers*

I’m embarrassed that I only recently heard of Naguib Mahfouz. I have no excuse, and my missing him until now is only further proof that there are too many books waiting to be discovered in this world. Whatever the case, I am thankful to have discovered another fantastic novelist, who opens up for me new cultural and historical vistas and perspectives. As I’ve been learning more about the Arab world recently, reading Mahfouz is a very pleasant way of tying together some of the details I’m learning, within a fictional framework.

The Everyman’s Library all-in-one edition of The Cairo Trilogy is a beautiful book. It’s large, but sits well in the hand while reading. The pages and type are designed well, I like the ribbon bookmark, and there’s a helpful introduction and timeline in the beginning of the book.

I read the three volumes, with some time in between each one, over several months, and I wrote reviews for each book as I read it:

Palace Walk

Like many of my favorite novels (Middlemarch especially, but also beloved novels by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, and others), Palace Walk introduces what seems like too many characters to keep track of. What adds to my difficulty is that I have no framework for placing Arabic names, so at first even just figuring out who’s who within the family is a little bit challenging. But also like other of my favorite novelists, Mahfouz is gifted in drawing out the distinctive characteristics of each person, so that within a very short time I feel like I’ve known and lived with these characters forever.

What I love about this novel is how it reflects aspects of my own life and character—usually painfully! In each member of the family I see aspects of my own struggles, internal things I’m ashamed of, frivolity that is just silly. This both draws me into the story and makes it hard to gaze at it. I want to know myself better through these characters, but I’m also scared to contemplate my faults and shortcomings so precisely.

The narrative is primarily internal and character-driven, rather than focused on action—but the story does include a number of spectacular actions. In the family, we first see an introduction to each character, and then weddings start coming fast and furious; and then a series of crises. For Egypt as a whole—which plays a role as an overarching character, looming over all of the smaller events—we see the Armistice of World War I, the hopes for independence from the British, and the 1919 Revolution: student demonstrations, uneasy intercultural relations, and tragedy.

Palace Walk is an incredibly emotional, gripping novel, and I loved every minute of it. It’s over a third the length of the trilogy as a whole, yet it feels like merely the setup for an ongoing, tremendous story. I look forward to diving into the second book of the series, Palace of Desire, after a short break.

Palace of Desire

This was a challenging book to read! I often felt that I was being beat up by one depressing event after another. In the same way that Thomas Hardy was criticized for “deriving an almost sadistic pleasure from Tess’s suffering” in Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Mahfouz is walking a very fine line between crafting a gripping, character-driven story, and wallowing in the worst of humanity. There were times when I wondered if Mahfouz was merely trying his hardest to show Yasin, especially, making the worst choices possible.

All throughout this second book of the trilogy, Mahfouz is taking each of his characters apart, piece by piece (in Yasin’s case, more than one piece at a time!). The death at the end of the first volume continues to resonate in the life of each of the surviving family members, and it’s hard to imagine these people finding a true, wise equilibrium. What’s left by the last 80 pages or so is only the foundations, and even those are in question. But those last pages of the novel are powerful, and I think they justify the awful behavior that led up to the conclusion.

I found most of Palace of Desire very gripping, but there were a few disappointments. One is that the actual historical events didn’t seem as directly connected to the story as in the first volume. This story is much more ambiguous, less rooted in the political events of the time (though they are still discussed by the characters, occasionally).

I was also disappointed in Khadija. She is just really difficult in this story, and every time the narrative shifted to her for a few chapters, I would sigh inwardly, “Oh please, not a chapter about Khadija!” I hope she may find some maturity and redemption in the final volume.

In this book, Kamal becomes the primary protagonist—which is no surprise, since I assume he is meant to stand for Mahfouz himself. Kamal’s main motivation—Aïda, the beloved—becomes a bit tiresome, especially as it is perfectly clear from the start how it’s going to end up. I am most curious to see Kamal’s continuing development in the third book.

I enjoyed the discussion of the early career of Umm Kalthoum. That was a nice historical touch. And I also love Mahfouz’s style of beginning a chapter in such a way that you’re not quite sure which character’s mind you’re in until you’ve read a few paragraphs. The way he constructs scenes of dialogue, with characters’ internal dialogue coming before what they actually speak aloud, is brilliant.

Sugar Street

Ok, so I’m fine with a book that presents the frequent despair in the human condition. I don’t mind characters who doubt the foundations of their lives, and a bit of tragedy happening in a novel is acceptable and necessary. But the extent to which Mahfouz refuses his characters the briefest glimmer of hope and joy becomes wearying by the third book. For me, the pinnacle was when Aisha’s daughter dies in childbirth. I just could hardly believe that Mahfouz would subject that poor woman to yet more tragedy. What is it that Mahfouz wants to show us through this incessant despair?

One key may be a line that ends a chapter about people taking shelter during a nighttime air raid: “In this brief moment of darkness, life had reminded careless people of its incomparable value” (1174). Perhaps Mahfouz has crafted this extended “moment of darkness” simply to remind the reader of life in all of its joys and sorrows. In following the members of this family through the streets of Cairo over decades, we see the depths of human nature—lustfulness, lack of self-control (or misplaced, excessive discipline), paralyzing doubt, seemingly pointless political maneuvering, along with uncontrollable tragedy. It’s an uncomfortable mirror held up for us to look into, that we can contemplate our own weaknesses, and the sorrows that come upon us, unlooked for and unexpected. After taking this journey with Mahfouz, hopefully we have eyes so desperate to see light in the world around us that we will seek it out in ways that we might not have before—and seek to be that light for other people.

Reflecting on the trilogy as a whole, a couple of things stand out to me. One is the suffocating nature of the Cairo setting. Not that Cairo itself is presented in an uncomplimentary way—but there seems to be no escape. The family members hear news (increasingly, especially in the third volume, which speeds through the years) from the world outside of Egypt, and they have acquaintances who set off for other parts of the world (Kamal’s friends, in particular, seem freer to leave their homeland than any other characters do). Yet there is an intense gravity that keeps them rooted to the same place, giving the story an almost claustrophobic feeling. It’s as though Mahfouz is relentlessly forcing us to stay with these characters, denying them the life changes that would naturally happen if they could just get out of Cairo for a while (though it doesn’t seem that fleeing Egypt is healthy for many of the characters who do have the opportunity)—like, a change of scenery would be a false way of distracting them from their real, internal struggles. It’s an interesting, infuriating technique for a novel—especially a series of novels that runs to as many pages as this one does.

The other recurring theme that affected me was the way that there is no foundation for stability for these characters. These are characters who at least pass through phases of devout religious faith, yet that faith always seems a little distant. It’s more of a magic talisman than a present help for real-life trauma and struggle. It’s a constant, nagging presence in the story, but it’s always ambiguous. Is Amina right to cling to her hopes as she visits the shrine every day? I think so—and I think Mahfouz thinks so—but this novel is never going to admit outright that it’s a worthy activity that does any good in the world. Kamal’s constant doubt and questioning never resolves itself; Yasin remains devout and yet absurd; other characters have varying perspectives on belief, but nothing that brings lasting, tangible joy to their lives.

The other typically solid foundation in life is family—which is by far one of the dominant themes of these books. Yet here again, family doesn’t offer much worthwhile guidance for life. The sons follow in their father’s footsteps—even unknowingly, at first—but there is no possibility of open communication, by which the father might impart some wisdom before they squander their lives on the same lusts. When Kamal’s heart is broken by Aïda, there’s no one to come alongside him and assure him that such young crushes are perfectly normal, or show him how to move on in life. Instead, he falls into sensual lusts and drinking, blind to the fact that it’s these very behaviors that keep him from seeing the world, and his own life, truthfully. None of al-Sayyid Ahmad’s children try to replicate the kind of household they were subjected to, yet none of them seems to know quite how to establish a household at all. Much of the novel—especially from the second volume onward—finds the entire family in a liminal state (modeled externally by Aisha and internally by Kamal). They’re not quite what they started out as, but they haven’t yet become anything else distinct. They walk through life, wondering what happened to them, but they find no answers. At the conclusion of the story, it’s hard to imagine that that family will still be a cohesive unit after another generation or two. (And if Yasin is the one who transmits the family lore, then the next generations won’t even know what really happened. “What is truth?”)

The Cairo Trilogy is a fascinating, depressing, challenging story. I’m glad to have spent some months working my way through it, though I’m also glad to look at my own life and see joy and hope and light.

[Otis Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this on a trip to Egypt, and found it to be a very well written and compelling glimpse into 1930s and 40s Egyptian life. It followed one family and thus had many ups and downs, but what made me stick with it was Mahfouz painted his characters so incredibly well, they really came alive.

Book 1 was hard to read because the father was so cruel to his wife and kids. He never let his wife leave the house, he was stern and authoritative with his kids, yet he would go out and drink and womanize with friends every night. Incredible to me that such a dichotomy existed. But over the generations it painted a picture of life in Egypt, and how they dealt with the changing times.

"The truth was that he was dreaded and feared only in his own family. With everyone else – friends, acquaintances, and customers – he was a different person. He received his share of respect and esteem but above all else was loved. He was loved for the charm of his personality more than for any of his many other fine characteristics. His acquaintances did not know what he was like at home. The members of his family did not know him as others did."

"With the same ardent, overflowing vitality, he opened his breast to the joys and pleasures of life. He delighted in fancy food. He was enchanted by vintage wine. He was crazy about a pretty face. He pursued each of these pleasures with gaiety, joy, and passion. His conscience was not weighed down by guilty feelings or anxious scruples. He was exercising a right granted him by life, as though there was no conflict between the duty life gave his heart and the duty God entrusted to his conscience."

Poor Kamal:
"He gazed at her, and her personal magnetism attracted his emotions so totally that he lost all sense of time, place, people, and self. He was once more reduced to a spirit swimming through the void toward his beloved. He perceived her – more with his spirit than his senses – in an enchanting intoxication, a musical rapture, and a lofty splendor. His sight grew weak and feeble. The force of his spiritual reaction seemed to have affected all his vital functions. Thus his senses and his faculties were transported to a semiconscious state approaching annihilation."

One interesting bit was that for a muslim country, alcohol featured quite prominently in the book. And then ruined the health of the father and the sons when they consistently used it too much. It really is one of the hardest sins to avoid in every culture.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

My dad really loved this book, but I'm kind of lukewarm on it, which makes me sad. I really have a strong distaste for parts of the current arabic culture, which alternately villifies and sanctifies women, with nothing in between. Yes, this book does kind of deal with that, but I found that the very way the author writes was equally sexist. The women in this book were almost always cartoonish, described by their attractiveness, or their virtue, or perhaps their lack thereof, with little effort made to get into what actually made them tick. And then we follow every single one of the family's males through one whorehouse after another, and get their whole psychology. I finished it. I'm glad I read it, but it's really long and I can't say that I got a ton out of it, besides this:

If your father was all screwed up with his views on women, his place in the world, and religion...well, good luck with that. You'll need it.

[Dave O'Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in thrall to this epic trilogy all last summer. The story of a traditional Egyptian family in Cairo against the political and social upheavals of the late teens, 20s and 30s. I can't begin to summarize quickly why it's fascinating, because it is so on many levels. To pick a few: It's a view of a culture so different from mine as to seem another planet, yet I can relate to every character. Just seeing into a traditional Muslim household is fascinating: the women virtually never leave the house; the respected, feared, and loved paterfamilias rules, and keeps his romantic relationships completely separate from the life of the family. Then there's the mechanics of how sexual affairs are negotiated and conducted in a world where men and women never mix; and on and on. Most amazingly, almost miraculously, every character is sympathetic. Even the aforementioned father. I didn't want the book to end. If it were an HBO series I'd write in to have it renewed for another season.

[Smiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 1,313-page novel by Naguib Mafouz who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988 is seemingly formidable but in fact it is highly readable since the team of four scholars have translated so beautifully that we readers can read on and on without any regrets due to our ignorance of its Arabian original version.